Waking Hour
by Waterlilies
Summary: Sequel to Reminiscing. Love always shows up in the most unusual places. For her, it just happened to be standing outside her office door. Her aquamarine eyes met with his obsidian eyes, “One four three.” Slight 1xRxOC and character deaths.
1. Ebbing Tides

Hi everyone, here's the sequel to Reminiscing that I promised. Standard disclaimers apply.

ooooo

Ebbing Tides

ooooo

The clock's tick-tocks echoed in her vast office. At times, she thought her work would never end. It's been two years to the day that he left her. Everyday she was reminded of his absence, but it was the little things such as the swaying of the velvet window curtains to him scanning every possible weak spots in her security detail on political trips. Lately, tensions have been mounting between civilians and government officials on the overpopulation of the Earth again. She hated the thought of creating another round of colonies, where it would mean families being torn apart. The file gazed in front of her and within it; the majority of ESUN members already signed the papers. She picked up her fountain pen and quickly signed them without glancing at another sentence. The ESUN members had outmaneuvered her on this issue, but it was a chance they were willing to take to oust her from her position. All this time, they told her that a research facility was being built, but now the truth came to light. The facility is actually a colony. Right then, the vid phone alerted her of an incoming message. At that moment, she wanted to disappear from the world.

"Hello Minister Woods, what can I do for you today?" She remained seated at her desk.

The middle-age man looked at her gravely, "The council is getting restless. Have the papers been signed yet?"

Her blue eyes reflected defeat, "They have, I have them right here."

"I'm sorry Ms. Peacecraft, I tried to hold them off."

"It's all right, we have to complete tasks on a timely manner." She logged onto her laptop and clicked on the calendar. She couldn't believe the colony was almost complete. "According to Graves' proposal, the first phase should begin in two weeks with the installation of the live support systems. After that, the new residents can move in."

"I'll have my assistant come by and pick up the file from you later this evening."

Relena nodded in response, "I'll leave it at the front desk for him then. Goodnight, Minister Woods." She ended the conversation and returned back to the file she loathed the most at the moment. Not wanting to stay in her office, she grabbed the manila folder and dumped it at her secretary's desk.

"Anything wrong, Ms. Relena?" Cassie noticed a change in her employer's mood.

"The ESUN is going to have a big problem soon," the blonde paced to the coat rack and placed her light blue coat on. "If Minister Woods' assistant comes by, please give him that file," she pointed to it.

"All right, Ms. Relena, I'll make sure he receives it. Have a good night then."

"The same to you too."

Outside, the chilly temperature surrounded her and she walked towards the limo. The new driver was half asleep. She frowned and tapped against the driver's side window, "I'm walking home on my own," she shouted at the newbie driver.

"Ms. Peacecraft that's crazy," his eyes terrified that he did something wrong. "I won't fall asleep again."

"I'm all right, I need to clear my thoughts. Go home to your family, they need you." She took out her wallet and paid him for the night's trip.

"If you insist, thank you, ma'am." He tipped his hat and started the ignition.

Not long afterwards, she faced the crisp country air. The stars were barely piercing through the clouds. Behind her, she heard footsteps, "You can stop following me, Maxwell. I know it's you."

Pilot 02 came out of the shadows, "I thought I was getting better at this."

"Well you're not," the words stung him.

"Rough day at the office, Princess?"

"You can say that again," she continued to walk the mild uphill climb. "Cassie shouldn't have called you."

"I have orders from Lady Une," he mumbled. "I've heard what the ESUN is planning to accomplish. It's just plain stupid to start another war."

"It might just happen," she sighed in defeat. "The Terra Project was supposed to stop this in the first place. Instead, it didn't sit well with the officials at all." She heard her heels click on the asphalt surface.

Duo was about to open his mouth, trying to bring up Heero, but he decided not to. He feared that it might open old wounds again.

"You were about to say something, weren't you?" Relena felt the same weight in her heart. "It's about Heero, isn't it?"

His cobalt eyes stared down the road, "Yeah. I was wondering how you're holding up? With the workload of yours, Quatre was worried and told me to check on ya once in a while."

"I'm doing well as can be," she told him a lie and hid it well under her words. Inside, she felt her heart becoming heavier. She didn't know how long she could keep this game up of hiding her feelings and burying herself deep in her work. Milliardo gave the position back to her and she was glad that he gave her a distraction. At first it was a good plan, but now, the effects from the past two years were finally showing. For one thing, she lost her fight on the Terra Project to cap space colonization and the ESUN members are slowly turning away from her. With the recent passage by Graves, she knows the fallout will happen shortly to her and the ESUN.

"Princess, you-who?" Duo noticed she was deep in thought and waved his hand in front of her face.

"I'm sorry for spacing out," she smiled. "Well would you look at that," she caught the glimpse of her house finally. "Thanks for escorting me, Duo."

"No problemo," he happily led her to the front and made sure her faithful butler answered the door.

ooooo

The laptop's white haze glowed in the darken hotel room. Heero furiously typed away, hacking into several websites' firewalls and viewed what the "chat" was about. He already found the document that disclosed the research facility's true use. His eyes scanned the small font. The more he read, the more he became annoyed with Graves' decision. A few more quick hits, he found a mini disturbance within the ESUN council, where some of the members were requesting Relena to back down as president. As of now, he made a careful tab of who was vying for the position and the list included the top five members that were in succession for president. With all the data, he was leaning more towards Graves.

He followed more links and sub links on Graves. He was twenty-nine and graduated with a degree in political science. Heero continued to read the background info of his suspect and found out that both of his parents were involved with the government. They were lobbyists and tried to develop more funding for scientific advancement. Heero's eyes perked up for a bit and doted on the interesting find. The former Wing pilot perused farther and the dull words were the same all over again. He couldn't find a single smoking gun on Graves at all.

His thoughts wandered back to Relena. For the past two years, he followed her through satellite feeds and reports coming from Lady Une. He couldn't help but wonder if his "fake" death had been the cause of her downward spiral. The thought crossed his mind, but he quickly tossed the idea out. His trainings from Dr. J told him to eliminate all possible emotions and the people close to him; she was one of those people. In order to protect her, he needed to be out of her life.

He closed his laptop and flopped onto his bed with only his black shorts on. The air was stifling, but he couldn't get Relena out of his mind. No matter what he tried to do, an image of her smiling haunted him. "You're in deep, Relena. How are you going to get yourself out of this one?" His monotone voice nearly above a whisper and before long, he closed his eyelids.

ooooo

News of the demise of Relena's Terra Project slowly leaked out to the public in first few weeks after the papers were signed. Civilians were becoming anxious. They didn't want to find the letter requiring them to deport to space. The rules of having governmental officials living on Earth were starting to drive them crazy. Murmurs shifted through nations as to who would be the most affected by the space deportation. But to all of them, they didn't know that the cluster was already in its final phase of construction.

In the United States, everyone was panicking that they would be the likely targets. "I knew she couldn't handle it," a man looked up from his meal at a diner filled with worried customers. "We were better off in the past."

Another man shouted in the back, "You're wrong, mister. She's changed greatly and you don't realize it."

"I lost my son in the war!" he banged his ceramic cup against the table. "How does that add up? Tell me!" he screamed.

"We fight for what we believe in," his words spoke wisdom, but it didn't calm the fears at all. Everyone continued to look at the screen, waiting for the press conference of what Ms. Peacecraft had to say on the subject matter.

The breaking news alert flashed across the bottom of the screen and the news station diverted its feed to the conference. "Ladies and Gentleman. You all may be aware of my failure in getting the final phase of my Terra Reformation Project started. The ESUN has outmaneuvered me on this issue and has drafted their own plan." The audience at the diner along with the rest of the world held their breath. "I'm sorry to regret that a new phase of civilian displacement will begin in a matter of weeks. The Andromeda colony cluster will be situated in the alpha quadrant. The area is slightly further away from the L cluster. Please be aware that your respective governments will be sending the vouchers through the mail. Again, I'm truly sorry." The president of the ESUN quickly left the podium amidst an uproar of questions.

Minister Woods greeted her from behind the setup and gave her a pat on her shoulder. He went up to the podium and answered the dozen questions that were being fired back and forth. Relena walked over to the water dispenser and poured herself a glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lady Une and two other Preventers standing guard to ensure her safety. At that moment, they all knew she was a high security risk. She continued to sip on her glass of water and she then spoke up, "I'm going to the Andromeda cluster, once the residents move in." Lady Une shifted in her stance. "I know what you're thinking, I'm going and that's that."

"I'll have a Preventer team secure the area before your trip." Her eyes shifted to something in another room, "My sources already point out that the cluster is about finished."

"It's somewhat true," she tossed her cup in the trash bin and headed for the exit. "It's something that I didn't want."

Une nodded her head in agreement and lead the president to her limo, "Let's just hope nothing wrong will come out of this."

"That's just wishful thinking. I've learned from my mistakes. People won't sit quietly through this one, just like with war and the Mariemeia incident." She slid into her limo and out of the public's view. Within the comfort of her limo, two questions plagued her mind. _Something isn't right at all. Why would the colony cluster be built this quick?_ The limo started to move and she watched the blurs of civilians' faces pass by her. She couldn't help but wonder if some of those people will be heading to space because of her. For the first time in a long while, she felt she had failed everyone in her mission.

ooooo

"Mr. Graves, a package came early this morning for you."

The third in succession to the ESUN grabbed the small parcel from his secretary. "Thank you," and he shut the door behind him. He quickly ripped open the small box and pulled out the mini disk that was inside. The disk was not bigger than an inch in diameter, yet it contained a highly valued secret. He slipped the disk into his own personal computer and clicked on the icon that popped up onto the screen. In an instant, a flash of data poured through, revealing the blueprints of a Gundam. With the Preventers patrolling on the usage of Gundanium, Graves had a team research on another possibility. For the past two years, his team perfected a synthetic metal with properties similar to Gundanium, but it was much lighter and had a different chemical composition. In essence, the Preventers won't discover the new metal at all, since they'll be focusing on Gundanium itself.

Graves continued to scan his mini project until a phone call interrupted him. "Sir, we have excellent news. The final phase has been completed and the zero system has been installed successfully."

"Well done, Dr. Anson." He immediately closed the connection and began to talk to himself, "And thank you, Dr. J," he mocked. "The Andromeda cluster will be the perfect distraction. Everything is in motion now. We have to eliminate Peacecraft before this goes on." He took the mini disk out of his computer and placed it in a secure lock box hidden in his desk. To him, he wanted the ultimate source of power on the battlefield. The resurrection of the Gundam will achieve his goal. With his secret project, it will surely dissolve the ESUN in a matter of months. In addition, the ties between nations will be rattled to their cores. Out of this chaos, he planned to push his image to the world and try to attain the rank of president for a new government. His eyes flashed with delight to thought that his dream can become reality.

He stepped out of his ESUN office and drove himself to an abandoned military base that was left from the previous war. The area was shrouded with scrapped metal and rusted trucks. To anyone, the area looked more like a metal junkyard than an abandoned base. He pulled into the large hangar and checked if anyone followed him. Once the area was cleared, he walked off to a nearby shaft and punched in the code. The rickety elevator went down a few floors. When the doors finally opened, he saw the metallic Gundam ahead of him. His eyes stared in awe in the majestic view of its beauty and potential.

"Mr. Graves, sir." A soldier saluted him. "Dr. Anson wasn't expecting you today." The soldier had a confused look.

"I know, but I had to see for myself." The ESUN politician continued to stare at the machine. "Has the testing begun for this model yet?"

"No sir."

Dr. Anson came from a side entrance and noticed Graves standing by the elevator shaft. She casually walked up to the group, "Mr. Graves, I wasn't expecting you to come today."

"Has the testing begun yet?"

"No sir, not yet. There are some glitches in the OS."

"We need to hurry on this matter." He became agitated by the setback, but decided to be cautious for now. "I'll give you a month."

"Thank you, sir." Anson gripped her pen in her pocket and she watched him re-enter the elevator shaft. She knew she couldn't fail him on this crucial part. All of the systems can be fixed, but there one major problem. It's finding the right person to withstand the zero system. According to Dr. J's early research, the zero system had destroyed his test subjects' minds. The system that she installed was the prototype to the actual system seen in Heero's Gundam. The dangers in using the zero system were there, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact magnitude of the prototype's effects.

She walked back over to the control panel that monitored all the current systems. In seconds, she brought up the OS of the Gundam and worked at the codes. The lateral movement systems finally worked properly and she then re-typed another code to enhance the intensity of the single light saber. She looked at the digital clock on the wall and smirked to herself, "If I keep this up, I'll have three weeks to find a test subject." Her emerald eyes glazed over the computer code as if it was a secondary language. In her teen years, she spent hours at the computer, cranking mini programs that were used in her robotics project. The first time she ever met Graves was at a technology exposition held at the ESUN headquarters. He became interested in her work on the massive code she created just to move a miniaturized Gundam. To her, he was a charismatic politician, who held an interest in improving the sciences. After the exposition, the two kept in constant contact and when she graduated from the university, Graves hired her to be his defensive specialist on his secret project. From that moment, she never really questioned him about the project, since she figured it was for national defense. In all, she was living out her dream in building a Gundam. She looked back at the clock and fifteen minutes had already passed. "Not bad for a day's work." Luckily for her, the codes were easy to reformat and with all the CS training, it finally paid off.

"Lyra, aren't you going to call it for a night?" Her assistant walked in with two cups of coffee.

"Just about," she smirked and paused a brief moment to stretch out her fingers. She gladly accepted the hot drink. "We need to start testing on the zero system." Her emerald eyes were absorbed by the screen's contents, which showed Dr. J's research notes. "There's gotta be a clue here somewhere."

ooooo

Two more weeks had passed and the first wave of vouchers came through the mail. The vouchers were indiscriminate. At times, a whole street was required to move, while on another street, the residents were spared. Each passing day, people were more afraid to walk up to their mailboxes and pull the contents out of them. They didn't want to see the awful tan envelope. Josh looked out from his bedroom window of his family's two-flat house. He saw the postal worker making his way down his street. The familiar rev of the engine echoed about ten feet away. He lifted the blinds just to focus in on the family's mailbox. Already, some of his friends and their families were required to move into space in less than three weeks. Personally to him, he didn't want to go to space after studying the horrors from the Eve wars. He grew up on the Earth and he wanted it to stay that way. The idea of spending chilly nights up in the middle of nowhere didn't sit too well with him. Nevertheless, he thought space as an unforgiving environment. He could feel his heart race and he saw the postal worker putting mail into his family's mailbox. Once the letter carrier moved out of the way, the thirteen year old ran downstairs to retrieve the mail. The grass crunched under his weight. He didn't know if he should wait for his parents to come home, but he needed to know. His right-hand wavered as he took hold of the mailbox's contents, and he forced himself to look. "Thank God, not today," he wiped his brow. The sound of a front door closing turned his attention away for a moment, and he looked towards his old neighbor. The man gingerly opened the box and pulled out the single letter he received, the tan envelope.

Josh ducked back into his house and he peered through the screen door. Around the street, the same scene was being relived. The tan envelopes had finally invaded his neighborhood. He went to the family room and turned on the TV set. The words coming from the reporter were all a blur to him. For now, he counted his lucky stars, but wondered when his luck will finally run out.

Back at HQ, Une waited for Heero's incoming report. Before then, she authorized the security sweep at the Andromeda cluster before Relena's space flight. She didn't want to take anything to chance. Her Preventer teams were being spread too thinly around different countries and within space itself. She already sent Sally and Wufei into space to monitor the trafficking of Gundanium, while she sent Quatre to the Andromeda cluster to check on its infrastructure along with any possible problems requiring Preventers to intervene. A small beep alerted her of his call. "What's the update, Yuy?"

"The same news here as there."

Une could see that he was in a small outdoor café. "Any possible threats yet?"

"No." He quickly changed the subject, "Be on the lookout for Graves."

"What about him?" Une's eyes shifted in confusion.

"There's something about him." He continued to speak in his monotone voice.

She changed their conversation's direction, "Relena will be traveling to the new colony once the first wave of colonists arrive."

"Hn."

Une could see him reaching towards the wire that allowed their mini conference. In seconds, dead silence enveloped the screen. Heero's strange warning about Graves perplexed her. From what the Preventers have been following, Graves hasn't shown anything out of the ordinary yet. For now, she kept an eye out on the young politician, but she had other perplexing matters to handle first.

TBC


	2. Calm Before the Storm

ooooo

Calm Before the Storm

ooooo

Lyra spoke into her tape recorder, "Test subject #27 failed. His mind became warped once the system was activated." She looked over the recording of the trial run, and she saw the subject slump in the cockpit. Her collected voice began again, "The prototype is much more dangerous to handle. Dr. J had somehow managed to change the zero system's intensity. My recommendation; removal of the system in its entirety." She clicked on the stop button. Weeks of preparation and analysis were about to be tossed out the door. What she needed to find was someone just like Heero Yuy. These days, people like Heero were hard to find.

The twenty-three year old scientist walked out of the base. The feeling of sunlight relaxed her thoughts. She never knew how much she missed seeing the daylight. And for today, a mini excursion into the city wouldn't hurt. The project would still be there, waiting for her to finish. In the city, she peered into the window shops, and at one point, she was tempted to go on a shopping spree. All of her attention turned away when she passed the jumbo-sized television screen in front of a clock tower.

Headlines were flashing across the bottom, as the news slowly slipped in. The bolded yellow lines scrolled with the words, "First shuttles to Andromeda colony sabotaged. Flights re-routed back to main space gate. No injuries reported." Everyone paused around the screen to take in the breaking news. They worried if more of these mysterious setbacks would jeopardize their own lives while heading into space. Lyra continued to walk amongst the small crowd, and tried to carry on with the rest of her afternoon.

Relena monitored the incoming reports from her office and saw a small crowd of angry civilians outside the ESUN. All ready, she could see Preventers posted at the front gates. This was getting out of hand, and it was only to get worse. With the sabotage of the shuttles heading to Andromeda, it started a ripple effect in delaying the second wave of civilians that was required to head into space. She picked up her phone and immediately called an emergency session, hoping to find some resolution to the massive problems that the council now faced.

They all entered a small conference room with no windows. Some of the men were anxious as to what the president had to say on the matter, while others including Graves were waiting the right time to see a shift in power. Relena decided to cut to the severity of the issue, "We need to stop this nonsense now. No one wants to go to the Andromeda cluster."

"It's not a matter of who doesn't want to go, the Earth is facing a serious problem in being overpopulated." One of the council members spoke up.

"Why do the civilians have to leave?" She countered the argument. "It wouldn't be fair for us government officials to stay here on Earth with our families. If we have to conduct business affairs from space, by all means then. We should head to Andromeda along with some of the civilians."

"The point is, Ms. Peacecraft," Graves finally spoke, "We need to remain on the Earth and run the government." Some of the council members agreed with him on the issue. "Without authority here on the planet, nations would fall apart."

"Why are you adamant in having this go through, Mr. Graves?"

"I'm just offering a solution to the Earth's problem and with the Andromeda cluster, it will solve the problems. With the homes that are being vacated, the land can be used for better housing developments that can become it's own mini city, depending on how big the land is. The system pinpoints areas that could become viable for improved housing and takes into account future logistics of economic prosperity."

"So you wouldn't have any remorse in tearing families apart or have civilians risk their lives in going to space?"

"Now, now, Ms. Peacecraft. Don't go accusing me for being insensitive. We all knew that the threat of overpopulation will come and the time has come now. If we don't act quick, our essential resources will be depleted." Graves went for his briefcase and pulled out revised plans of the shuttle launches for the civilians. He was one step ahead of Relena and he wanted to keep it that way. The files were quickly passed out. The diplomats were whispering about the debate and whether if Relena could carry out her term. They've all noticed that her work began to slip slowly.

One of the members brought up the vote of confidence. "Seeing that we are in a state of emergency, we all should instate the vote of confidence. Ms. Peacecraft, it seems your work ethic has slipped for the past two years and I believe it's time for change on this council."

Relena was shocked at the news. The council at the moment was turning the tables on her. She didn't want to become the instigator, "Half of you decided to make a colony behind my back and reject my Terra Reformation Project's final phase. If that had passed, none of this would be happening now."

"Your measures weren't enough to ensure the future. It was based for the short-term goals for our energy needs. Our biggest problem is that population densities are becoming critical in cities such as New York City, Paris, and Beijing. With Andromeda, it will help lessen the strain on the Earth, and Mr. Graves proposal was the ingenious plan." With that comment, Graves was beaming in his mini victory. "And so, I'm instilling my vote of confidence to Mr. Graves." Soon afterwards, a few more members tossed their votes into the open forum. The council only needed 60 of the majority, and in ten minutes, Graves had enough votes to take Relena's position.

She continued to hold her head high, "Well Mr. Graves. Congratulations, you're the new President of the ESUN." She shook his hands and graciously left the room. Outside, Une and Duo greeted her. By the look on her face, they knew something important had happened behind closed doors…a power shift had taken place. The one thing on her mind now was getting to Andromeda, and seeing the civilians first hand. She didn't want to let them think she had abandoned them.

Minister Woods looked at the folder and tossed it to the side. He was sickened by the way Graves had won the position. "Mr. Graves, will you take the full responsibility if a shuttle is lost in space? Civilians will want answers and the blame to be put on someone."

"If it comes about, yes. I'll be the scapegoat for the ESUN."

The older politician shuffled out of the room, no longer wanting to be in the company of the new president. With Relena ousted from her office, he didn't like the way the ESUN was heading. The abrupt change in the council will definitely spark more distrust of the ESUN. The council needed her at this most critical moment, but the group turned its back on her.

ooooo

Josh saw his mother's car parked in the driveway. He wondered why his mom came home early from her hospital shift. He dropped his bike into the garage and entered through the door that led into the kitchen. It was quiet, too quiet. When he poked his head around the corner, he saw her sitting at the table with the mail next to her. It was there, plain as day. "We've been picked, dear. We're scheduled to leave from the D.C. space port next week." He mechanically picked up the letter and read the bold print, trying not to believe that his family's turn was up. "I'm sorry honey," his mother kissed on top of his forehead. "The bright side is you'll be with your friends."

"True," his voice was drained of feeling. He knew it sooner or later that this might come true and now it did. "I'll start to pack." He was about to climb the stairs, "Does dad know, yet?"

"I called him, he's on his way home now." She went over to turn on the flat screen television mounted on the kitchen's wall. "It looks like Relena Peacecraft has lost her position to Dillon Graves."

The week passed quickly and Josh wasn't thrilled at all. Earlier in the morning, government officials were already standing on their front door step, waiting for them to enter the van that would drive them to the space port. And now, he was waiting in lines with hundreds of other people from different nationalities, and they were all trying to figure what part of the cluster they were assigned to. The minutes turned to hours and the lines seemed to move nowhere. He watched his dad look cautiously at the signs that flashed above their heads, trying to see if they were in the right line or not. Eventually, they made it to the front desk and the worker verified their location on the cluster. Josh noticed that she didn't want to be there either. Right then, he felt sorry for her, because of the faces she had to see daily. "Have a nice flight out," she tried to smile.

They then entered another line, which lead them to the shuttle that would take them to their new home. Inside the shuttle, it smelled like a brand new car with leathered seats. Josh could already feel the synthetic air hitting his face and he thought he might become sick. He read reports of the first wave of civilians arrived at the cluster just yesterday. "If they can do it, so can I," he whispered to himself and clamped his hands on the armrests next to him. The captain's voice boomed into the intercom and the words that came out, Josh tuned out. He could already the G force against his chest and the rattling sent shivers up and down his spine. His mother's hand glided over to his hand and she patted it, trying to reassure him that it's just normal as flying on their vacation trips. He took a peek out the window that was next to his father and all he could see was a rapid change of blue from light to navy in an instant. The G force intensity became unbearable on his chest and at one point, he felt like his head was going to explode. He continued to clamp his hands down until the shuttle was in space. The captain's voice returned on the intercom with news that they survived the stratosphere.

The passengers began to unbuckle their belts and for the first time, they witnessed weightlessness. Josh reluctantly pulled his aside and immediately held onto his armrest. His feet nearly touched the ceiling until he pulled himself back towards his seat. For the rest of the ride, he looked out the window and tried to remember the home he left behind and wondered if he'll ever return there. "Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Andromeda Cluster," the captain's voice boomed above him. In the foreground, the cylindrical tube rotated about in the black sea of nothingness only to be pierced by a few stars. "At least, there will be artificial gravity," he murmured.

ooooo

Relena didn't look back when she left her office one last time. She was glad that the last thread that tied her to her work had been severed. She figured the ESUN could handle things appropriately without her. With parts of Graves' plan already conveyed to her, she'll use them as trunk cards in waging the war against the ESUN…in essence, the war against Graves. The idea of pacifism no longer applied and she knew she had to enlist the help of the Preventers. The reports of her lost to Graves for president stunned the world and there were mixed opinions about his success within the aging organization.

Une was seated next to her, going through some paperwork. "Do you think Graves will last as President?" She didn't even look up from her work.

"It depends," the former president responded. "There was something in his plan that didn't seem right. For all he's showing, the rushing of civilians into space is questionable."

There it was again, the warning that came from Heero earlier. "He seems to be alright," Une finished the last of the papers. "Maybe he'll slip somewhere."

"Maybe," she looked out into the endless night. "And there it is, the source of the trouble."

Une didn't say anything. Instead, she analyzed the pieces in her mind and so far, they looked more like a jigsaw puzzle than anything else. She heard from Sally and Wufei that there was an increased movement of synthetic metals, but it wasn't linked to anything else as of yet. What could all of this mean? She stared at the sight ahead of her.

At the cluster, Quatre eagerly waited for Relena's shuttle to arrive. The two years that passed seemed an eternity to him. He gave up being a Preventer for a brief time and returned to his father's business. His construction job didn't last too long, once Duo came searching for him to resume his duties. For the past several weeks, the former Sandrock pilot diligently watched the news reports on the ESUN's progress. With Relena being voted out, he sensed a foreboding feeling that something was wrong. The air hatch finally opened and Relena emerged along with the others.

She saw the former Sandrock pilot and her eyes brightened in an instant, "It's been a long time, old friend."

"Likewise," he noticed that she was pale. "I've checked the security systems, and they're all clear. If you all come this way, I'll show you to your rooms."

ooooo

After everyone settled into their quarters, Une gathered her team in an unoccupied room to discuss the developing news from the past several weeks. As she caught everyone up to speed, Quatre remained the observant one, while Duo paced back and forth. "You're telling me that Graves is behind this? How do we know for sure?"

"It's from a source of mine." Une continued on with her discussion, "It might not be wise to further support the ESUN, as long as Graves is running the group. The ESUN tricked us into thinking that this is a research facility. All I'm saying there is speculation that something will fallout in the end. The Preventers need to make a choice of whether to continue their support with the ESUN or not."

Quatre nodded his head, while his braided friend continued to go in circles. "That time hasn't come yet. We shouldn't jump the gun yet."

"Right now, I think it's best to be prepared." She pulled out the papers from her briefcase and showed the evidence…reports coming from Trowa and Wufei. "Like I said before, a choice needs to be made soon. If something does fallout, Graves will be the one pulling the strings for the ESUN."

Relena heard the group shouting from where she stood in the corridor and decided to go for a stroll. She walked over to the reinforced glass windows and peered towards the other two cylindrical colonies that were synchronized together. Her eyes then drifted towards the image of someone standing behind her, but when she turned around, there was nobody. Goosebumps dotted her skin, and she felt like she knew the man that stood behind her. There was no time to lose, and she ran after the elusive ghost. Deep inside her, she knew it had to be him and she wanted it to be true. The way he stood and looked into her aquamarine eyes. She rounded the corner, but the hallway was empty. In defeat, she leaned against the cold metallic walls and reasoned her way out of what she saw. It's probably the jet lag from the flight. She regained her composure and walked back to her room, but then again, she felt someone was watching her. It was the same eerie feeling that she always felt when Heero was around.

Heero regained his breathing. He was wondering if she really saw him. Flashes of her standing by the window burned in his mind. All of a sudden his body froze and he couldn't react quickly. The minute their eyes met, he felt something coming over him. He didn't think anyone was there in that section of the colony. "Idiot," he muttered in his breath and balled his fists. In the distance, Relena's footsteps slowly dissipated around the corridor, but he remained in his spot just in case she decided to venture back. He slowly crept out of his hiding spot and walked over to the mechanics depot. Without any questions, he blended in and his secret was safe for the time being. He looked behind the glass door and saw her figure emerge from the shadows.

She peered over to the door, but she just saw mechanics walking about. Instead of heading back to her quarters, the ex-president strolled into the heart of Andromeda. Around her, the artificial sunlight was dimming to a sunset and a small group of colonists were already setting up shop to get their lives back in order. Within earshot, whispers were forming behind her back. She didn't pay any heed to them and she continued to walk down a street, trying to find a way to wake the colonists from their feelings of distrust and deception from the ESUN. What can I do now? Above her, she saw the colony's synthetic sky open to the natural light of space. Who will listen to me? She pondered on the thought.

"There you are," Quatre nearly walked past the street where Relena stood. "Une was worried when she didn't see you in your quarters and sent a search party after you. Are you truly all right?"

"Yeah," she managed to smile a little.

"You look like you seen a ghost."

"I might have," she started to head back onto the main street.

Quatre looked worryingly at her. The stress of the past few weeks were finally catching up to her and it scared him that she might do something drastic. He remembered one night when he was on patrol at her home just after Heero's death. He passed by her room without her knowing and he heard her cry in her sleep. It killed him to see her in that state. All throughout the public, he realized that she was putting a mask on to perform. He only wished that she could find some peace in Heero's passing.

Back at the abandoned base, Lyra made the final adjustments for another trial run with the Zero system. The test subject made it through phase one of handling the mental capabilities of the system and now phase two included a triage attack coming from robot drones and worn out mobile suits. Lyra's emerald eyes monitored the vitals of her test subject. "Commence phase two." She pressed a dial on her dashboard and in an instant, the room in front of her lighted up with lasers and mini explosions. She watched the vitals of her subject spike at points, but they never strayed to the critical level. She then glanced at her timer, while her other team members noted the mechanics and brainpower used into controlling the system. The phase only lasted two minutes. "Impressive, Lieutenant Collins. You may disengage the system now and wait for following instructions," she spoke into the speaker. At that moment, she watched to see how the lieutenant reacted, but when he exited from the cockpit, he looked coherent enough. She picked up the phone and immediately called Graves, "Sir," a brief pause, "we finally have our pilot."

"Excellent, Lyra. I think it's about time to have our subject to head out into the field. There are reports that Relena is currently touring the Andromeda cluster. It would be fitting to greet her in space. She might start gathering opposition to the ESUN, and we need to stop her immediately," the newly elected president smirked. "Have him ready for tomorrow."

"Will do."

TBC


	3. Encounters

ooooo

Encounters

ooooo

"What do ya think you're doing?" The top mechanic yelled at one of his workers. "There's no time to sleep on the job while I'm on watch. Now finish the diagnostic for the mainframe engine on pod #2." The grumpy forty-year-old walked off to agitate another worker that was slacking off. Heero carefully watched over his shoulders to keep his identity from being revealed. He was uploading secret reports onto his mini portable laptop that was hidden in one of the pod's compartments. Lately, the chatter has been quiet around Graves. The newly elected president was fairing well in his plans. He eyed continuously at the rapid firewalls he was breaking, and he then came across a suspicious file. He dragged it into a virus-protected folder and he tried to decrypt the file. Behind him, he heard his boss coming towards him and he quickly sent his program into automatic decryption status. "Why are all these wires doing here?"

"I'm running a systems check in the hydraulics," he responded in his usual monotone voice.

"I thought this pod was already checked for that yesterday."

"Never hurts to be safe than sorry." He watched his temporary boss walk towards the main office. He clicked onto the folder and multiple files opened up. A hacker's dream was what he stumbled upon. The repeated sequences of 1's and 0's must mean something, but he didn't have the time to decipher them. He set a program up for automatic decryption, and figured his program will slowly crack at the code. Heero peaked through the windows of the pod, and saw his boss walking over towards him. He quickly switched his laptop screen over the hydraulics tests he was supposed to run. Before his boss could speak, "I'm still working on it."

"Alright, just checking." The veteran of the team walked out again, spotting another victim to terrorize.

Meanwhile, back in Relena's room, the ex-president had a sleepless night. She dreamt one of Andromeda's cylindrical colonies being attacked. In the midst of the chaos, she was trapped, but someone had pulled her to safety. The same feeling she felt before when Heero was there. The ominous dream lingered throughout her morning. She quickly snuck out of her room, and entered the bustle of the colony life. She didn't try to hide her appearance in public. Some people would have called it foolish, others admired her courage for it.

Relena walked through the streets, seeing how the colonists were faring in their new habitat. The broad daylight revealed the true sentiments of the colonists. Some gave disgusted looks to the former politician. The quiet night before was just a masquerade to everything. She continued to walk until she came across a small café. Inside, there were a small handful of customers, who were listening to the morning news.

"What would like miss?" The waitress asked without any hesitation. She knew the woman that sat before her.

"Coffee with cream and sugar please." Her blue eyes gazed into the monitors. The waitress filled a mug, and placed the condiments in the black liquid. Relena took the ceramic mug into her hands gingerly. "Thank you," she smiled. If Une or any of the Preventers were with her, they would have made sure that the establishment was safe for her to enter. The idea of someone testing her coffee even appeared in her mind, but she knew she wouldn't need any of their security measures. The warm vapor of the liquid crept to her face, and she enjoyed the moment fully. "I have one question for you, miss. Do you like it here?"

The waitress stood there dumbfounded for a moment. "Well to be quite honest, I think this whole scheme is a sham. I left most my belongings down on Earth, and starting a new life here is just totally outrageous. How does the government down there expect us to resume are lives up here? If you ask anyone here, they hate the government and the politicians that were involved. I would be careful of who you ask for help."

Relena nodded to the waitress's advice. "Here's the money for my tab." She rose from her seat, "I'm here to help all of you, if you would let me." Eyes shot up from their dead gazes of hopelessness. With that, she walked out the door, wondering if the word of mouth gets around that she's on their side. A few blocks down, Duo caught up with her, "Hey Princess."

"Hello, Duo." She kept walking on. "Have you and the others reached a resolution, yet?"

"Well about that," he tugged at his braid, "we're still debating about that."

"I need to know now, Maxwell. Colonists here need to know if they can trust us. If you just ask around, you can see it in their eyes. They hate Graves' plan. In truth, the ESUN has failed."

Duo looked around from where he stood. "I'm just saying there isn't enough proof to tell us anything. I don't want to be barging in on something and risk our lives for something that isn't there."

"When are you this cautious? I never knew you to be like this."

"Well you see…Hilde and I are having a baby." The words fell out from his mouth.

The news was unexpected to her, "Oh," she continued to walk, "congratulations then. When did you find out?"

"Just two days ago," he grinned. The pair continued to walk back to their quarters with nothing more to say between the two of them.

Une sat at a table and looked over several other files marked top secret. _Relena will be shocked to see this_. If there was one secret she didn't want to reveal, this would be the one. She had sworn to Relena that mass production of the mobile suits will cease in ESUN territory, but in essence, she ordered that three of them be kept in storage only known to her and one other person. The mobile suits were based upon data collected on the five original Gundams in a project known as Deliverance. With recent events surrounding Graves, Une knew it would only be a matter of time to activate these three mobile suits.

She heard the door slide open, and found Duo and Relena walking in. She immediately closed her laptop, and resumed the debate that she had started from last night. "Well, where do we stand today?"

Duo still ran the argument in his head, "I'm behind you on this one, Une. But, this will be my last assignment."

"Fair enough," the commander folded her arms across her chest, and focused on Relena. Duo took that as a cue to leave the room. "And where were you this morning, Ms. Peacecraft?" The tone of her voice showed a cause for concern.

"I needed to get my head cleared."

"Next time you do that, you need to be with one of us. You never know what Graves has planned here. He could have hired a hit man to kill you. You're still a threat to him. And beyond that, any colonists here might want to kill you for your failure in preventing this," her voice rose.

"I know that," the former president spoke back. "It's a chance I'm willing to take." She paced back and forth, "From what I can tell you, if you want to start a mutiny against Graves, by all means go right ahead. It'll will save a little of my own time and energy."

The commander went back to her laptop, and pulled more news on Graves' movements. "For now, we have to wait and see what he does next."

"Is there any chance I can take a flight out to view the colony?" The request took their conversation in the opposite direction. Her voice was firm, and it was a tone that no one dared to challenge.

"I can make arrangements for you then," Une continued to type away on her laptop.

Relena noticed that she was preoccupied with something else. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just nothing."

Duo found Quatre staring out in blank space. "Hey buddy, what's up with you?"

The blond continued to stare without any response to his friend's question. A few more seconds of silence came between the two, and then Quatre snapped out of his vision. The vision took the energy out of him.

"What's wrong?"

"Something stirs around this colony. There was an attack, and it sets everything into motion. We're all in danger." Quatre's voice shook, "It's going to happen soon."

Duo's violet eyes widened, "It's cryptic, but are there any faces you can make out?"

"No." He tried to recall the vision in his mind. "We have to keep our eyes open to anything."

"There you two are," Une stepped out the room with Relena by her side. "We're going on a mini flight around the colony."

"Now?" Quatre felt a tinge of his vision coming true for a moment.

"Are you all right, Quatre?" Relena looked over towards him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he tried to pull off a smile. "I just had one of my visions."

"I thought they stopped quite a while ago," Une looked worried this time.

"That's what I thought," the pilot of Sandrock concluded. "I guess I was wrong." His eyes scanned the empty vastness. "You should have several reconnaissance teams search the area before your flight."

"The scheduled flight won't be until tomorrow," Une pulled up a translucent screen from her handheld palm pilot, and punched in an order to send three teams of Preventers to scan the area. "Duo and Quatre, I want the both of you to man the hangar tomorrow from any possible security breaches." The two Preventers nodded in accepting their mission. "Let's just keep an eye out tomorrow."

ooooo

"Sector Four secured," a young male voice came through the receiver.

"Acknowledged," Une responded back in the transmitter. Her eyes scanned over the continuous feed coming from the three dispatched teams. There was no abnormal signal being revealed. "How is the security at the hangar?" She spoke into the transmitter again.

"Everything checks out here," Maxwell chirped into his microphone. "The top mechanic has informed me that the pod is ready."

"Relena will be there in five minutes then. Make sure the area is secured, Maxwell."

"Quatre and I will do another security sweep." He cut the transmission short and told his partner about Une's orders. Again, the two went around the large area and checked to see that everyone was stationed at their respective spots.

Duo entered the cockpit of Relena's transport, "Let me see your I.D. badge."

The pilot followed his orders and flashed the plastic card in front of the Preventer. "You're not the one I saw earlier just twenty minutes ago. What happened to…?

"Williams had an emergency to attend to," the new pilot didn't look back at his questioner. "My credentials are still in order."

Duo scanned the card into his mini computer, and the screen pulled up the new pilot's background info. "Everything checks out." He handed the card back to the pilot. "Carry on then."

Heero heard the cockpit door close behind him. He pulled out his laptop again, and noticed that the file was almost completely decrypted. He carried out the final systems check on the shuttle, and everything was cleared. A small alarm rang out from his laptop. The file was finally in its bare bones form, revealing detailed plans of Graves' true nature. There wasn't anytime to fully grasp the information, and Heero pulled a small disk from his pocket and inserted it into the laptop. In seconds, the disk popped back out, but then a female voice came from behind the cockpit's door.

"Ms. Peacecraft has boarded the shuttle. You'll be given orders from the main command center."

"Acknowledged," Heero started the shuttle's engines.

Une returned to where Relena sat, "Are you sure you don't want me here?"

"I'm sure, Une." The former politician remained firm in her decision.

"Very well, I'll fly one of the other pods and follow you."

A green light appeared on the shuttle's control panel, and Heero started the main thrusters. In the back of his mind, he knew he was on an important mission…a mission to still protect Relena. In the com link established with the main center, "Pilot, you are go for launch."

Heero navigated his way to the outer barrier of the hangar, and nudged the small-sized craft into the runway. Before long, they were in space. Andromeda rotated her spindles in the steady sunlight. "How can this one colony spark a huge debate?" She watched it rotate a few more times. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a part of the colony that was sealed off from the rest. She punched on a button and called up to the pilot, "Can you take me up closer to the far northern end of the colony?"

There was no response coming from the cabin, but she felt the shuttle pitched towards the direction she asked for. To her amazement, the area wasn't in use. It looked identical to the southern end from where she had departed a few minutes ago. This was something that she could use. "Perfect."

"Is there something wrong?" Une called from the short-wave radio that Relena was also using.

"No," she looked out the window. "Can you send someone to check the northern area of the colony? It looks like there's a hangar not in use."

The commander focused her attention to the area, "It may be possible."

The two women continued their conversation for a few more seconds, until a jagged static interruption occurred on the line. "What was that?" Relena looked out her window and thought she saw a spark come from behind the colony.

"Relena? Can you hear me?" Une didn't see any blip show up on the radar. Her brown eyes scanned the horizon line, but there was no one there. "Quatre, is there anything strange happening on the main radar?"

"Not as of the moment, but we're getting electronic jamming signals," his voice cracked over the com link. Before long, Une wasn't receiving any signals at all. "Damn it," she punched the transmitter, "Relena, get out of there now!" She tried to send out an emergency signal to scramble her other Preventers to assist the colony and the spacecraft."

Relena felt the shuttle pitch left and right, and she quickly unbuckled her seat belt. "What's going on up there?" She slammed her fists against the cockpit door.

"We're being attacked. Get back to your seat now."

The eerie voice sounded like Heero's, and thoughts swarmed in her head. She shoved the door open, and her eyes fell on her supposedly dead friend. "How?" She whispered.

Heero looked back and saw the shock on her face. He immediately grabbed her and placed her in the seat beside him. "There's no time to explain. We need to head back to the colony." He set the plane on autopilot and opened the small closet. He then tossed a space suit to Relena. "Put this on," and she complied. Memories from their encounter on Libra were released from the obscurity of her mind. Her eyes remained steady on him for a moment.

A jolt came from the back, and sparks emitted from the control panel. Heero released the plane from autopilot, and he targeted the rogue machine that taunted them. "You see the laptop on the floor."

"Yes," her voice was trying to regain her composure.

"I need you to take the disk out of it, there's something that the others need to know." His eyes never focused on her, but he could hear her fumbling the small circular disk out of his laptop.

A golden light emitted from one of the cannons coming from the nose of the craft. Relena tried to establish communication with the main colony. "It's no use." The master alarm went off, and Heero knew they had little time left. He grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her to the back. She felt her veins constricted by the sure force of his tight hold.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes were frantic and she felt him shove her into the tiny life pod. "You can't do this! I won't lose you again." It was too late, his fingers went over to her lips and he tapped on her helmet case. The shield came over her face, and she could feel the air humming through her suit. The steady stream blew through several loose strands of her hair. Before long, the doors to her life pod were closing and she could barely see him through the small window. "Heero!" She cried out, and she pounded against the cold metal door.

His eyes gazed on the floating pod, and he looked back to the cockpit. The metallic Gundam stared at him with a saber beam in his hands. A brilliant white flash resonated from the area, and Relena looked on in horror to see it shred the plane with Heero in it. "Heero!" To the colonists, the explosion flashed throughout the colony's translucent shield, and they looked on in shock. Above them, several shooting stars of hot flaming metal tried to penetrate their defenses. Sirens blared out, signaling for the residents to seek shelter.

Through the cockpit window, Une helplessly looked on. The tiny pod floated without any regard to the explosion that was taking place right beside it. The arching red orange flames engulfed the defenseless craft, not realizing what precious cargo it held. She tried to get a com link established, but the static interference jammed the line.

The former queen looked on in horror as a second wave of particles smashed into her small shelter. The searing heat was becoming unbearable. She looked around for the control switch, but nothing worked. She figured pieces of debris and flames penetrated the protective walls leading to the booster rockets. Her cerulean eyes looked back to the thick glass window. Tiny cracks had appeared. They ran rampant up and down the one foot by one foot window. "Oh no," she breathed in. Out of the corner of the window, the flaming metal debris rotating ever so slightly. It's jagged edges sent shivers up and down her spine. They were both on a collision course. Shards panged off the thick glass, and the little cracks increased in size. The massive metal gleamed in front of her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, bracing for the impact.

TBC


	4. Drifters

I want to personally thank RandomPixie, TheEvilAshleyness, Benz, Geminia, inda, and L.A.Une for their reviews. Thank you!

ooooo

Drifters

ooooo

The cool grass scratched at her skin, as her eyes opened to a vast cerulean canvas above. The sense of serenity never felt so refreshing. The smell of lilacs and violets taunted her perceptions, and she rose from the dew filled field. _Could this be it?_ A land she dreamt of what could have been if wars weren't present. But, that was just ridiculous. She knew deep down in her heart, it wasn't the perfect ideal. Around her, there wasn't a single soul insight. "Where am I?" She hovered her hand over her eyes to keep the glaring sun from blinding her. She trudged further in this strange dreamland of peace.

"Relena, stay with us! Come on!" She slapped the ex-queen's pale face several times in hopes of reviving her. The spacesuit that protected her was burnt at the extremities. "Can you hear me?" The commander shouted over her. She grabbed the oxygen mask and placed it over the young girl's mouth, hoping it would give her some time.

Une dashed back to the controls and put the shuttle into full throttle. She knew seconds mattered now. Already, she could see one of Andromeda's docking station doors open and she glided the craft into the holding area. A team of medics was on deck, and pulled Relena to the infirmary.

The two hours that passed put everyone on the edge. Quatre stood by the infirmary's entrance with his head hung low. Sporadic visions surfaced, but they never revealed any positive outcome. A flash of purple and mystic clouds swirled about. He felt Death's hands linger over the room. The visions were becoming more intense than before.

Duo sat in a row of seats and held a cup of cold coffee. He played over the day's events, seeing if he missed any possible signs that could have prevented any of this from happening. "What did I miss?" His hands crunched into fists.

"We all missed it, Duo." Quatre spoke up, rubbing his forehead after the intense vision. "There just seems no end to it. First, Heero, and now Relena." The two heard a pair sliding doors opened, and saw one of their comrades enter.

"I came as soon as possible," his familiar monotone voice was severe and deep. "Has there been any news yet?"

"Not yet," muttered Duo. "Might as well take a seat."

Trowa preferred to stand and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was in contact with Sally and Wufei, they'll be here in another hour or so. Once everyone is here, we need to set an executive meeting in place with Une. There's something we need to discuss."

"You got that right," again Duo chimed in.

Une looked at her subordinates in a glass room adjacent to the waiting room. She coupled the disk that was found with Relena. It was the key lead now in their mystery of Graves and his transactions within the ESUN. At the same time, she grappled with the veil of silence that Heero had her under since the day of his supposed death. Would it be wise to tell the truth to them? She continued to look through the pane and decided to keep the secret for now. From what she saw in the field, no one could have survived that blast without a life pod. Even with a spacesuit as the sole protection, the extreme cold and unforgiving environment of space would eventually take over anyone's body.

The charge nurse left the room where Relena was situated and headed straight towards Une. "Commander Une."

"How bad is it?" She cut straight to the point.

"She has several first degree burns on her hands, but the main concern for me is the lack of oxygen she suffered. Right now, she's being monitored."

"Very well then. Thank you for the update."

"Do you want me to tell the others?" The nurse gestured towards three Preventers.

"Please that would be helpful. I have more pressing matters to attend to. If they ask, tell them I'll be at my office."

The younger woman nodded in response and entered the glass-enclosed room. At that moment, Une made her get away and focused her attention on the disk that she knew was from Heero. Once she arrived in her room, she immediately popped the disk into her computer and ran a decryption program to access Heero's work. The first pieces of information that began to filter through shocked her as to what he was planning…resurrection of the Zero system. "This is not good." She remained in front of the computer screen, as more files leeched her memory on her laptop.

The seconds elapsed into minutes, and the program continued to run. A knock from her door broke her out of the cascade of files that kept her attention all this time. "Come in," she cleared her dry throat. Five pairs of eyes focused in on her. "I need to tell all of you something I kept this long." Everyone braced themselves for what she had to say. "Heero has been alive all this time." She finally broke the veil of silence that he made her keep for these past two years.

The group heard a Styrofoam cup crack under pressure in Duo's hands. The black liquid seeped through his fingers. "What did you say?" The words tried to register in his mind. The same response was felt through everyone else.

"He made me promise to keep him dead from all of you." Une looked down at the carpet, and retold the story of what happened. "I gave him a drug that put him into cardiac arrest, and after his body was pushed to the morgue, I revived him. From that day on, he was working solely for Relena's protection and for me."

Quatre joined in on the conversation, "It all makes sense now…the increased breaks in foiling assassinations."

"It figures Heero would do something like that," Wufei remained where he stood in the room.

Duo recalled the day's earlier events, "You mean he was there today in that ship with Relena."

"That's correct. I'm afraid he didn't make out of it. I've had officers search for anything, but they came up empty handed."

"Are you sure about that?" Quatre felt an uneasy feeling.

"There were two consecutive searches conducted." Silence embraced the room for a brief moment until Une broke it. She clicked on a remote control and a hologram picture popped up in front of them all. "These are the snapshots that were taken of this prototype suit. We have reason to believe it's linked to Graves." She paused for a moment and clicked up the screen from her computer, "Heero was doing recon on Graves and found several files linking him to this mysterious prototype. From what Heero has recovered, this prototype is using the Zero system. Graves is going to start another war with this and he'll drive the separation between the Earth and the colonies even further."

"Whatever Relena accomplished through the ESUN, it's all in jeopardy now…unbelievable." Sally looked at the image of Graves' prototype.

"But how are we going to stop this mad man from taking over the world?" Wufei was perplexed as to how to topple this goliath in their presence. "We destroyed our old Gundams already. I don't think the current countermeasures from the Preventers will do anything."

"You're right, Wufei." Une clicked on an icon on her computer and pulled up another file. "None of you know about this project, which began right after Relena's ascension as President of the ESUN. For the cliff notes version, there are three Gundams in storage as of now in this colony. They are modified from the original Gundams, but the OS does not involve the Zero system. Combat capabilities include an array of lightweight artillery to varying intensity of the beam sabers. "

"But how can we defeat the Zero system that's installed in Graves' version?" Duo was worried about that particular OS after seeing how it controlled Heero.

"By the looks of today's attack, the intensity of the system is high. I can't say for certain how we're going to destroy the new mobile suit. Once we make our first contact with this suit, we can make adjustments accordingly. If we need to, the Zero system can be installed into the three Gundams if worse comes to worse. We may have to play fire with fire."

"When do we start?" Trowa was already thinking the logistics of future missions.

"As of now," replied Une in her commanding voice, and started to point at each one of them for their orders. "We need to calm the colonists' fears first. Quatre I want you to hold a press conference down in the main atrium. Duo, you monitor the communications between the colony and the earth. If you see any suspicious activity, notify me immediately. Trowa and Wufei, you two will be stationed at the north end, and be in the position to fly out in case we make contact with this new Gundam. And Sally, monitor Graves' moves back at the ESUN. He won't easily recognize you, since you spent most of your Preventer missions out in space. Once we get everything pieced together, we'll bring down Graves once and for all. For now, we have to wait what his next move will be. Everyone got their orders?" Her officers nodded.

"What about the third Gundam?" Duo asked, hoping he would get the chance to get revenge for his friend.

"I'm not letting you fly, if that's what you mean. For three reasons, one, Hilde has informed me of her current condition. Secondly, I don't want our enemy to know we have three Gundams. And three, I'm already breaking the rules of having these Gundams in the first place."

ooooo

Quatre stood in front of a small glass podium. The colonists were wondering if the ex-Gundam pilot had answers to their questions. "Hello there," his voice boomed through the microphone. "Earlier today, there was an attack on Ms. Peacecraft's ship by an unknown mobile suit. The Preventers are now investigating the matter to their utmost capabilities." He paused giving him some time to breathe, and see if anyone would interject with a question. His eyes scanned the room, and he continued, "As of now, Andromeda is on lockdown to incoming and outgoing communications. Please bear with us as we continue to do our work. For the colony's protection, there will be Preventers situated in and out of the station. Thank you for your cooperation. I will keep you informed as the situation changes."

A flurry of questions swarmed in front of him, "How is Relena doing?" One of the people from the café asked the vital question.

Automatically he responded, "She's currently unconscious in the ICU. The doctors aren't sure when she'll wake on her own." That was the one and only question he answered. With that, he quickly made his way back to the north end of the colony, where it was almost a ghost town. An eerie outline of a figure on the wall caught his attention. He pulled out a gun from his back pocket, "You there, slowly turn around."

"I didn't mean to wander this far," a boy's voice echoed in the passageway.

Quatre retracted the weapon in front of him, "Why are you here at this end?"

"During the explosion, I just ran anywhere to get away from the panic."

He could tell the boy was telling the truth. "What's your name?"

"Josh," the teenager replied back. "What is down here anyway?"

"I'm not at a liberty to tell you." The Preventer curtly replied. "If I did, I would have to shoot you."

"You're trying to be sarcastic, and it's not working."

"So I have been told before." He looked around the passageway and noticed the lights kept fading in and out. "The power grid must be not up to speed at this part of the colony." Seeing that the teen wouldn't budge from his spot until he told him something, "Do you have any family here?"

"Yeah, they're back at the south end." He looked down at his worn sneakers. "I don't really know anyone here at all. I just got here several days ago."

Quatre realized that the kid wasn't a significant security threat, but he was still weary of breaking protocol and procedures. The blonde pilot looked around to see maybe there was an empty room of something that could divert the teen's attention. "Well you should get back to your parents now, they must be worried sick about you. Right now, the station is on lockdown, and you need to go home."

"I used to have one back on earth," he mumbled. The kid slouched off the wall and made his way back to the main end of the colony.

The Preventer remained at the spot until he was sure the teen was well away from him. He didn't want to jeopardize the location of the three Gundams. For the rest of the dimly lighted hallway, he pulled out a hologram map from his wristwatch. "This should be it," he tapped on a fingerprint scanner.

"It's about time you arrived here." Wufei sat in a seat, next to one of the radars.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Quatre pulled out his flashlight.

"We're trying to get some auxiliary power up and running, but I think someone forgot to wire this part of the colony to the rest." Wufei was annoyed slightly. "We only managed to get the radars online."

Trowa was at a small generator, splicing several wires hoping that it would bring some light into the room. "I think that should do it."

Above their heads, the static sound of electric current hissed, and the lights finally emitted their fluorescent glow.

"Would you look at that?" In front of them, their mecha gleamed in the dim lights. "It just like the old days," Duo placed his hands against his hips.

"It sure does," Quatre took in the quiet moment until a familiar voice brought him out of the moment.

"Cool."

Quatre spun around and saw the teen standing there. "How did you get in here?"

"I just hotwired several wires and got in." Josh didn't pay any more attention to the former pilot of Sandrock. "Are those Gundams?"

Wufei was behind the boy, "Quatre, it looks like you have some explaining to do." The Asian was surprised to see a visitor in the hangar.

"I guess I do." He shrugged and moved towards the boy.

ooooo

Back at the debris field, Lyra surveyed the impact from her prototype of the Zero system. Earlier, she hid from the Preventers that surveyed the area to find any clues that would reveal the identity of the attacker. She maneuvered the tiny craft through shards of metal. "Lieutenant Collins sure didn't leave anything to chance." She steered the craft again and banked to the left to see how wide the impact field truly was. To her amazement, it was what she hoped for. The system worked after all. She listened to the incoming satellite feed coming from the earth about the attack on Relena's shuttle. _The breaking news will definitely get Graves' attention_. She continued to navigate through the strewn shards.

In the horizon, a faint light source pulsated every few seconds. Curiosity got the best of her. She jetted towards the object that was about fifty meters ahead of her. Right in front of her, she realized it was a person. Without any time wasted, she used her ship's retractable arm and pulled the person into the safety of the ship. "Could the blast have caused this to happen?" Lyra played at the thought, as she was heading towards the back of the ship.

A com link interrupted her for a moment, "Lyra, we have a problem." One of her staff members called from the lab. "It's Lieutenant Collins." There was some static interference coming from the line, but she continued to listen. "He docked the prototype in the bay, but once he came out of the cockpit, he suddenly collapsed."

"What? How can that be?"

"We aren't sure what happened. We tried reviving him, but nothing worked. The signs showed he had an arrhythmia."

Lyra was baffled to her subject's sudden demise. She held onto one of cold posts to keep her from floating up towards the ceiling. But, she was sure Graves would call in any minute to see the success of the project. For one thing, Collins accomplished what he was told. The bad news was that they lost their only pilot that could handle the system.

"What do we tell Graves?" Her staff member remained on the line for her orders.

"Tell him nothing, not just yet. If he calls, I'll deal with him." She cut the line and resumed heading back. "Graves will not like the setback once he hears about it." She punched the codes leading to the doors and found the person still bounded to the mechanical arm. She leaped over and released the helmet from the locks of the spacesuit. The sight took her breath right out of her. She couldn't believe it, it was him…in the flesh. "But how?" No one could have survived the blast, and nevertheless, be propelled this far from the field of debris.

She checked his vitals and noticed he was breathing on his own. Being petite as she was, she managed to carry him back to the cockpit where she monitored his vitals. "The one good thing about working in space is it's weightless environment," she talked to herself, while strapping him in the seat next to hers. This was one story no one would ever believe, but maybe she figured fate was favoring her side after all.

The landing pad to the base was in full view. During the two-hour flight, Lyra noticed Heero weaved in and out of consciousness. She ordered her team to adjust his restraints, in case he was aware of surroundings.

His Prussian eyes flashed opened when he felt a pinprick in his left arm. "He's being responsive to stimuli." A female medic called out to Lyra. "He's awake, ma'am."

Lyra bent down and faced the survivor, "Do you know what day is it?"

Heero paused for a moment and remembered something about an explosion, "Thur-s-daay."

"That's right." She turned away from him for a brief moment and placed some gauze over his head. "Do you know what your name is?" The man gave her a blank stare into space.

TBC


	5. Battling Demons

A/N: I finally went back and added chapter titles. In addition, I tweaked some of them for corrections, but nothing too major to the plot. As of now, there are two remaining chapters left and a mini epilogue at the end of chapter seven. Thank you to L.A. Une for the review! I truly appreciate the time you took to give a review. And since, my birthday is coming up (wink…wink), I'll appreciate any reviews, whether it maybe comments or flames. If I hear enough responses, I'll post even faster...the next target update will be in two weeks. Enough with my rambling…enjoy! Warning: some fluffiness in here.

ooooo

Battling Demons

ooooo

"What is that?" Cold eyes stared ahead of him. His IV was still hooked in his arm, as he pointed to the giant machine.

"This is something I've been working on," Lyra spoke softly. She noticed that he gritted his teeth when a shockwave of pain took over, but he never disclosed it to her. She wheeled him further into the large hangar. During the past few days, she easily swayed him into thinking that he was a pilot working for Graves. All it took were several hypnotic drugs to make sure his memory of being Heero didn't surface. She couldn't trust his amnesia being permanent at all. "Would you like to see the cockpit?" Her patient nodded.

She wheeled him onto a lift that brought them to the center of the mecha. The metallic sheen blinded him. He was still trying to get used to the bright lights that seemed to surround him, no matter where he went. He grabbed onto her arm, as she pulled him to the seat. The coldness inside the small enclosure seemed right. His pale hands hovered over the countless controls, but something told him he was there before.

"Are you alright, Odin?"

"Yeah I'm fine." His eyes honed in on the controls.

"You seem you're quite at home," she smiled back at him.

"I am." His monotone voice resonated slightly in the cockpit. "When can I fly?"

"Hold on for a sec, you're still injured." Lyra was amazed at how fast he wanted to try this Gundam out. "I'll get back to you on that. As your doctor, I'm ordering you to get some bed rest."

"Hn."

_A week later_

"Now Mr. Graves I have to warn you that our new pilot is Heero Yuy," Lyra looked up from her desk.

"How the hell did that happen? I thought he died awhile back." His eyes conveyed a questioning look. In their last conversation together, he didn't recall her mentioning any of this new information.

"I found him out in the debris field from our surprised attack." She grappled a pen in her hands, not knowing what else to do with her hands.

"Has he tried our system yet?"

"Soon…I have to give him the final okay on that. But I'm warning you, not to mention anything of his former self." She made a brief pause before giving him the news. "It seems that Yuy suffered amnesia. I don't know if it's temporary or not, but I gave him some drugs to keep his past memories from resurfacing. He now goes by the name Odin."

Graves nodded in response to this new information. He had one question lingering in his mind, "Being that he was a former pilot that used the Zero system, what are the chances of him being rejected?"

"Slim to none," a smile graced her face. "This is something better than we hoped for."

"Indeed, fortune has been on our side since day one." A grin sneaked across his face. His plan was working out after all.

The two walked out of her glass-enclosed office, and headed over to the room where Odin was staying. Lyra greeted him and introduced him to Graves. "I think it's time for you to try out the system."

"Sounds fine to me." He hadn't a clue of what he was getting himself into.

The restricted area doors opened to the three, and even with him standing, it would make anyone cower in front of the machine. Odin stepped onto the lift, and it slowly ascended towards the cockpit. Once inside, the familiar smell greeted him once again. It felt like home once and for all. He remembered what he went through the simulations. His photographic memory kicked into gear, as his hands flawlessly flew over the controls. He brought the mecha to life.

A voice crept into his mind, "Well what took you so long to get back here?" He wasn't expecting any of this to happen. "You're still the same one like him."

"What are you talking about?" He shouted out to the emptiness of his cockpit. The only thing he heard was the hum coming from the reactors that brought the dormant giant to life. A sharp pain resonated from the back of his neck, and he grabbed the area instinctively. A cherry red, trail slippedbetween his fingers.

"You can't hide anymore."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Right before him, he saw a translucent version of himself appear. The image mocked at him, and it guided him to activate the system. His fingers moved on their own, as golden light enveloped the small space.

"My name is Zero…you will become me." The cryptic voice penetrated Odin's mental blocks. For a moment, he felt his mind connected to a faraway dream. A dream where he searched for one person that he knew could be his salvation. He called out to her hoping that he would hear her. This was his last trunk card in stopping Zero.

Outside, Lyra monitored his vitals, and nothing abnormal popped up. "This is definitely a good sign," she noted the approximate time and compared them to the other test subjects used before him. This was the breaking point, whether he would make it or not. The readings remained steady, "Mr. Graves, we have ourselves a new pilot."

The older man acknowledged, "Well look at the time, I must head back to the ESUN for an important meeting. Let me know about any important updates."

"Will do, sir."

_Well…look who decided to grace their appearance finally_. Sally looked through the darken windshields. Through the past several days, she followed his every move, and even placed several bugs in his office hoping that he would slip in one of his conversations. Nothing ever surfaced. The building that stood in front of her looked like a rundown warehouse building. Then again looks can be deceiving. She flipped through her log notebook, and noted that this was the first time that he was here. Her attention ran back to Graves, who already hopped into his limo. She made sure that her distance between him and her were great enough that she couldn't be spotted. While navigating into the restless city streets, she began to setup a transmission back to the colony that would be received by one person in particular.

ooooo

"Get out of my seat," Wufei gazed down upon the teenager who sat at his spot.

"I'm here to keep you company," Josh looked at the radar.

"I don't need any," he scowled. "I'm older than you."

"I'm here to help out anyway I can." The teen swiveled in his chair, ignoring what the older man said.

"Well raising my blood pressure isn't doing any justice at all." The Asian paced to an empty seat that was far away from the teenager.

Duo walked into the conversation, "Having a little stress isn't bad for you, Wu-man."

"Shut up, Maxwell."

"Touchy…touchy…" Duo walked up to Josh as if they had been buddies since the beginning of time. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up." He winked at the boy.

"You got it, Chief."

Duo stared into the onslaught of files that were scattered on his desktop's computer. Being on "desk duty" wasn't his plan of fun, but it can't be helped. So much for the paper…erm…byte trail that Heero had left them with. His violet eyes scanned through the financial transactions that their current president made for the past several years. "It seems the Prez has been a very busy man," he talked behind his screen. "He bought some fancy metal…man why couldn't he have done business with Hilde and I, we sure need the money."

"Isn't the paycheck from the Preventers paying enough already?" Wufei was trying to make his comeback.

"Heh…cheap shot Wu-man." His voice steered their conversation onto a more serious note, "The reports Sally and you collected are showing a pattern for sure."

"We know the new metal is not Gundanium. Sally saw one of the cargo ships carrying this new synthetic metal."

Duo nodded in response, "Let's just hope our weapons can make a scratch on it then."

Trowa radioed down their home base, "The final scan is clear. The sensors are all a go."

"Roger that," Josh radioed back.

The two former Gundam pilots looked back to their new comrade. How they both yearned to be a teen again, and not to have a single care in the world. Those were the good old days, chasing false promises and realizing in the end, there was something more precious to save. The two resumed their respective tasks, and decided to let a new generation take the helm for once. They couldn't expect to save the world every time when it was in danger.

"When will I be able to fly one of the Gundams?" The teenager had a keen eye for technology and weapons.

Wufei ignored him; he was expecting an important contact anytime. Duo responded, "One day, but not today. Besides, you have to go through the sims."

"Um…Trowa already showed me that like a week ago." Josh looked over to his prospective Gundam.

"What…you sure you're not another Heero?" Duo lifted his eyebrows in curiosity.

A minute beep caught Wufei's attention, "It took you long enough, woman."

"Sorry for the delay, Graves has been on the move for the past several days. I need you to run a check on this building." Her eyes focused on the road instead of him.

"Why can't you do it?" He always did this to her.

"I'm doing the hard work down here, and besides, the sooner you finish, the quicker I can come home."

He heard her rummaging through her car for her computer. In seconds, he received the coordinates of the building. "Very well."

"Thank you." She closed the connection.

ooooo

Quatre remained by Relena's bedside for most of the day. Being the Preventer liaison to the colony, it seemed only fitting to stay next to his friend. Everyone else was preoccupied in their race against Graves. He whispered to her, "Please hang on in there. The colonists need you here." He didn't know what else to say. The soft clicks coming from the monitors reassured him that she was still there, but only in a deep trance.

If he had the guts, he would punch Heero in the face or something. All through these years, he could tell she was hurting on the inside. During the day, she would put on her game face, and at night, everything came crashing down. "You know you deserve some happiness too." He didn't know if she heard the words or not, but he got that off his chest. The sleepy figured tossed and turned in her sleep. The IV line clanked against the metal bar of her bed. The crystal liquid continued to fall by gravity's pull. His power of premonitions was useless in this situation. All he could do was watch her fight for her life.

"Relena," a soft voice floated about her.

It was the only voice that she heard, "Who's there?" She spun around to see if anyone was beside her.

"Find me," the voice taunted her.

"Where?" She called out to the vast land. This purgatory of hers was driving her mad. Time didn't even move at all. The sun still shone through the faint wispy clouds above her. She shouted towards the sky, "What am I supposed to do?" As if on cue, she saw a cherry blossom tree standing in the middle of the field. From the lush green fields of lilacs, the tree stuck out. The cool refuge beckoned her to come.

The pink blossoms were already in full bloom, as she leaned her back onto the cool bark. It was better than standing out in the blazing sun. Her eyelids slowly drooped, as she felt sleep's grasp coming over her. Her newfound friend slowly dissipated when she heard someone cocking a gun.

"I will kill you." His deep voice drifted towards her.

The phrase brought her out of her quiet meditation. It was a phrase she had heard over and over again. She watched him steady the barrel and aimed it at her head. The cold metal sat upon her skin, but she didn't flinch. Her blue orbs were fixed upon the person that stood before her. If she was to die in this purgatory, then so be it.

"Just pull the trigger. End it now." A command echoed in his mind. What was really going on? He looked at the woman in front of him. No longer the former pacifist, but as a woman who had her heart torn in pieces years ago. His finger lingered on the trigger, hesitating as to follow the orders. His mind raced with other commands. "Kill her now," a voice hissed. "You don't need her. Finish the job."

"Leave me alone," he looked away from her, but his arm still maintained its stance. The barrel pressed harder into her smooth skin.

She noticed something was wrong with him. His bipolar personality was too abrupt. "What's wrong?" She felt the barrel from her head falter.

"Stay back from me." A wrangled scream escaped from his lips. A foreign sound that she didn't hear often, the Perfect Soldier was breaking down before her very eyes.

Realizing he was fighting against himself, she slammed her hands into his arm, knocking the gun out of his reach. "I'm right here," she knelt down beside him. "You have to fight this."

His hands clawed at the soil and ripped a patch of grass from the fragile ground. The blades fell loosely around his hands, as his rampage went on. He was hoping to gain some of his mental status back from the intruder. His warning to her was clear and succinct, but he was hurting deep inside. A minute passed and the rampage ceased. "Relena," his voice was hoarse, but he felt a pair of hands turning his body to face hers. He brushed away a loose strand of her honey-blonde hair away from her face, "you have to kill me before I do."

The last sentence punched her in the stomach. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she shook her head from side to side in disbelief. "No…no."

"You have to." His forehead glistened from his inner struggle. "I can't fight this anymore."

"You have to be strong," her fists clenched at her sides. "I'm not following your wish."

"Zero is back." His breath was ragged, but he maintained his composure for the time being. He managed to hold the system at bay.

The words were plain and simple. The devilish system was resurrected again, and she knew what it did to him the first time. "You have to fight it, Heero!" His eyes were the calm Prussian ones that she remembered back in the days when they were on Libra. She picked at a couple strands of grass, trying to figure out a way to change his mind. For a diplomat, her argumentative skills failed her. "I just can't…I won't."

"It's your turn, Relena." She couldn't take it and walked away from him, seeking refuge under the pink blossoms. The words killed her.

A calm wind blew between the pair. If only it was that simple to admit their feelings for each other. The battlefield and politics always intervened at the most convenient times. The soldier and the princess, a combination that never worked, no matter how many times they met after the war. The Fates were cruel in their work to keep them separated, and now it came to this. The effects of Zero were slowly creeping in his veins. He can tell his presence was becoming stronger. His body would no longer be in control. With the strength he had left, he mustered to pull himself up and walked over to the figure that stood at the base of the tree. He pulled her close and tightened his arms around her waist. Her heartbeat pounded against his cool skin, "Do this for me," he whispered into her ear and entangled his hands into her hair before returning them to her waist.

She closed her eyes, trying to shut away from the world around her. "Let me go." Her arms pushed away from his chest, in hopes of escaping. Why did she have to be so weak at a time like this? She squirmed in his arms, but she felt them clamping harder down onto her waist. It was a gentle pressure, but she couldn't do anything about it. This wasn't Heero at all, and it wasn't the Zero system either.

"Stop fighting me." He looked down upon her and forced her to look at him straight in his eyes. Faint lines on their faces showed years of regret and torment. Feeling the last of his personality fading, he had to succumb to his feelings for her. It might be the only chance that he'll ever get. Their lips brushed for a moment, a slow yet sweet kiss that should have happened long before. All their regrets finally disappeared in that one moment. She melted into his embrace, not wanting to leave at all. Around them, blossom petals whirled at their feet. If only they were shooting stars, she would have made one wish to keep him forever.

A sudden jerking from Heero brought her out of their embrace. Automatically, she knew what had ruined their kiss. Her feet were planted on the ground, while she stood by his side. She wanted to be with him still, it was her decision and hers alone. Two hands reached for her neck, and she remained her ground. "Heero." The man that she kissed was no longer there. Instead a monster appeared before her...a monster that had Heero's body. The world around her turned into blackness.

Quatre looked in horror, as he saw her thrashing in her bed. The alarms sounded off one by one. "What's going on?"

The main doctor stepped in. "She's having an allergic reaction to a new medication we gave her." The medic stepped over to a nearby counter and grabbed a small injection syringe filled with epinephrine. The monitor registered a normal heartbeat, and the warnings subsided.

Voices floated above her. Her hand rubbed her temple, in hopes of knocking out the migraine she was having. The two strangers stopped in their tracks, as to see how the patient reacted to the fluorescent lights above her head. Pale cerulean eyes flashed open and twirled about for a moment.

"Welcome back," her former advisor looked at her.

"Quatre," she blinked twice. The smell of antiseptics clued her in as to where she was. "How long was I out?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"About a week and a half." He looked at the clock that hung in the corner of her private room. "A lot has happened since then."

The doctor took that as a cue for her to leave the two alone. "I'll check back on you later." She smiled and closed the door behind her.

"Une found the disk that Heero left with you."

"Did anyone find him after the blast?" Her eyes focused on the white fabric in front of her. They then turned to the gauze that was lightly pressed on her hands and lower arms.

"No one did." There was something in her voice that made him think on the answer twice. "I'm sorry."

"Call me crazy, but he came to me in my dreams. He asked me to kill him."

She looked out her window and saw part of the earth. The gigantic, blue marble looked peaceful from this vantage point. "No one knows what's really happening."

Quatre heard her shuffle as she made an attempt to get off her bed, "You can't just get up."

She swatted his arms away from her, "I've been here long enough." A cold sensation crawled up from her feet, as she balanced herself on the sand, colored tiles. "I need to find him."

TBC


	6. Awakening

A/N: Thank you to TheEvilAshleyness for the review...I'm now updating on a regular schedule…hehe. As promised, here's chapter six. There's one more chapter to go, and it has a mini epilogue. Thanks for reading.

ooooo

Awakening

ooooo

Odin dazed into the blank space ahead of him. Zero had a firm grip on both his mind and body. The com-link to the cockpit came to life, "Odin, are you alright in there?"

"Don't listen to her, she's just a pawn. You take orders from me." His voice mocked back at him.

"Odin?"

The syllables drifted to his ears. "I'm fine, Lyra." The past few seconds were a whirlwind for him. Zero's cloned voice of him still rang in his mind, but he couldn't anything about it. It was a game that he couldn't win, no matter how hard he tried. "What's the next test?"

His eagerness to complete the battery of tests didn't surprise her at all, "You'll see in time." She pushed a button on the dashboard, and the ceiling retracted. Before long, missiles fired from hidden crevices in the walls of the testing zone. Odin heard the incoming attack through the cockpit's warning system, and quickly guided the mecha through the barrage. He tried out the counter-attack measures to evade the heat sensor missiles. A blinding light engulfed the field, as he outgunned the slippery targets.

"It looks like the fourth of July out there," one of her co-workers tried to shield his eyes from the blasts.

"It'll be over soon, I just want to see what was damaged from the previous fight." Smoke wisped off to the ceiling, and Odin managed to keep his cool about the small test. "I think that'll be it for today." The timer on her computer showed that it lasted for a mere hour.

Zero crept back into his mind, "Remember she's just a pawn in this little game of ours."

Odin tried to brush the voice away as he strained to speak, "I'm heading out now." He felt his eyes twitch for no apparent reason.

A small spike crept onto his brainwave pattern that Lyra noticed. "Okay, get some rest now." Her eyes focused back at his physiological scans that were being printed out. There were two spikes that she couldn't account for. She bit on her lower lip lightly, as her eyes went back to the giant mecha. _Could it be coming to life?_ Her intuition was warning her.

The air in her office sent chills up and down her spine. She never felt this way before, while working on this project. Of all the test subjects used, Heero had unlocked a secret to this machine that she created based from Dr. J's notes. Her hand lingered on the phone. She debated of whether to call her superior to let him know about this. "Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?" The butterflies in her stomach created a storm within her. Her hand unconsciously began dialing the digits to his office.

"Mr. Graves, sir?" Her voice quivered.

"Lyra," he placed the folder from the conference down. In it, there were plans to build more colonies modeled after Andromeda. "What's the update? He asked his senior scientist.

"It's something about the system…there's something wrong."

"I don't know where you're going with this." He shied away from her allegations, pretending to only listen.

"I can't explain it, but Odin doesn't seem himself. He's a little too perfect on the battlefield."

He impatiently tapped with a pen his hands, "I think that can be a great sign."

"I think the system has a mind of it's own." The words rolled out from her tongue. It was a hypothesis, but something that she noticed in Odin was telling her she was on the right track.

"I think you need some vacation time, Lyra. Being stuck in the basement of a research facility all day, can have its negative drawbacks."

She can tell he was trying to lighten her mind slightly, "There's just something here that doesn't add up."

"Hopefully its just nerves then."

"It might just be that," she glanced up at the clock. "I'll continue to update you."

"Alright then," he closed the connection and resumed his task of looking through his plan for more colonies. In his mind, he prided himself that he had the ultimate weapon to bring down nations to their knees. "The end is coming soon."

ooooo

"Here's the info you wanted," Wufei peered into the screen.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" She looked up from the paper.

"You should have brought the scanner, woman." His usual personality showed up in his voice.

"You need to do some work anyhow." Her eyes scanned through the documents he sent her, "You sure it's a one story building?"

"I'm not a fact checker." He scoffed at her.

"I might just have to do some investigating myself then. Why would he be so interested in a small building in the first place?" One of her braids fell across her shoulders, as she leaned towards the passenger seat for some more files. "Looks like I'll be home late again."

"Figures that much, woman."

"You know where I'll be," she smiled at him. "I think you should go out on recon next time."

"Just be careful." His softer side emerged for one moment.

"I will, see ya soon."

Wufei shut down the screen and looked over his shoulders. He could tell that Duo and Josh overheard their conversation. Lucky for him, his katana was next to him. "There's nothing to see. I suggest you two focus on the work in front of you." The blade slipped back into its protective sheath. The sound of the blade scraping against the sheath made them rethink twice of their eavesdropping.

Before long, the doors to their secret office opened. "What's the progress?" Their commanding officer stepped in with a grim look on her face. The threat of this new weapon posed a dangerous threat to all of them.

"The same as usual," Duo muttered from his screen.

"Sally is infiltrating a warehouse now. She won't be back for another day." Wufei's voice remained steady.

Josh informed his superior, "Trowa has finished setting the sensors."

"Very well then, it may seem we have one quiet night for sure." Her statement was truly false when the doors opened again. Everyone's eyes looked at the person that entered. "Relena?" Shock crept on the commander.

"Hello there, everyone," her voice was raspy and dry. Quatre stood behind her, as he was wheeling her.

"She refused to stay in her room," the blonde kept a stern gaze on her, "but the doctor gave her the go ahead...seeing that the fresh air may do her some good."

"You shouldn't be here, Relena." Une didn't know what to make of this situation. "You should be resting."

"I need to be here," her voice rose in anger. "I know what's going on. Quatre informed me of everything." The only signs of the blast were seen on her hands. The white gauze reflected the soft fluorescent lights above.

"Very well then. The minute I see you stressing yourself, I'm pulling you out." Une glared at her.

ooooo

Odin tossed and turned in his single sized bed. The sheets twisted about his ankles, as Zero pried his way through his captive's mind. "Leave me alone," he muttered out loud.

Sleep was becoming an elusive friend to the former Wing Zero pilot, as he continued to toss about.

A light feeling glazed over his eyes, and he felt the weight of his eyelids finally obeying gravity. Before long, he was in a deep sleep. A feeling he so desperately wanted. The image of a woman danced in his mind. Waves of honey golden hair swept across her shoulders and shined against her pale white skin. "I've seen you before." The girl didn't stop when he relayed those words to her. "Wait…stop." He felt his entire body freeze.

"What do you think you are doing, Odin?" Zero had immobilized him from running after the apparition. "She's a distraction."

"It's not true," he screamed with his willpower. "I've seen her before." All of a sudden, his surroundings were plunged into darkness. Sparks of lightning flashed about him.

"I have total control over your body. Mind and soul." Zero's voice boomed even louder. He felt his right-hand moved to his back pocket, and it brandished a small black pistol. Out of nowhere, the young girl appeared in a white sundress. Her back was turned away from him. He wanted to scream for her to move away, but not a single sound escaped from his dried lips. The bullet escaped from the barrel, and ran in a straight line. He tried closing his eyes, but the dark orbs were fixated upon the sight ahead of him.

"Let me go!" His command went unheard in his mind. A splash of crimson ran down her chest. The white fabric absorbed the liquid as if it was water. The bullet had hit its mark, as she turned to look at her murderer.

"You will become the Perfect Soldier once again." Zero enclosed his grasp on his captive. He finally drove the man that once fought against him to his breaking point. The nightmare had climaxed.

Prussian eyes stared into the ceiling of the darken room. The dark blue orbs had lost the vivacity of life. They just stared at the barren walls, shadows blended with one another in his trance. Heero finally lost the control of his body. Zero was finally pulsing through his veins and lifeline. The man mechanically rose from his bed, and kicked the linens towards the floor. He shuffled towards the desk, and pulled out a gun. Automatically, he checked the barrel to see if it was properly loaded. "It's time for some hunting." A smirk appeared on his face.

Lyra sat in her office until about midnight. Her conversation with Graves didn't settle the unnerving feelings that she still had. Something bad was going to happen, and she felt it in her bones. She wished one of her staffers had stayed late with her, but they all left around nine. Her eyes wandered back to Odin's printout of his brainwave pattern. The two abnormal spikes jumped out of the page, screaming at her to reevaluate them.

She pulled the papers back into his medical file, not wanting to look at them anymore. Her laptop hummed in the deafening silence, as she ran the final diagnostics on her Gundam. A door in the hallway creaked. "I wonder who could that be?" In this ungodly hour, only mice stirred in the hallways. Next to her, she grabbed the upper right drawer and pulled out a stun gun. A weapon she hardly used, but her hand wrapped its fingers around it for security. _I knew I should have brought a pistol instead._

Her eyes glanced over to the monitors that sat on a nearby counter. There weren't any breaches in security. "I must be getting too paranoid," she cursed under her breath, and banged her head against the metallic desk.

"I think you are too," Odin had sneaked into the room without her hearing his footsteps. His prey shot her head back up immediately upon hearing his voice.

"What are you doing here?" She concealed the weapon under her desk.

His voice seemed different to her. "I was just out for a midnight snack."

"The cafeteria is in the other side."

"I know." He clicked the safety off his gun. Lyra brandished her own weapon, and shot the laser at him. The beam aimed at his chest, but he continued to stand. "Now now, that's not a way to greet a friend."

"What happened to Odin?" She realized she was dealing with the system after all.

"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Lost in the recesses of his own mind." The system taunted her back in a monotone fashion.

"That would explain his personality change in just a few hours."

"Smart girl." The man fired a bullet, knocking the defenseless woman's gun to the ground. She dropped to her knees as a bullet grazed above her head. A look of annoyance appeared on the youth's face, "You're just avoiding the inevitable."

"I rather keep myself alive." She yelled back at him. Her hand tried to grab the taser, but was met with gunfire.

"Well…well…Zero I see that you're up and about." The familiar voice was distant.

Her eyes widened in shock, "Graves."

"And why is Lyra on the floor?" The politician looked at his senior scientist.

"You were behind this…all along," her breathing was rapid after trying to retrieve her useless weapon.

"I tweaked the OS myself…I can play dumb at times." A smug look of deceit escaped from his face. "I managed to have Zero take over a human's mind."

"Bastard…you used me all this time in this game." Her mind was screaming for her to get up and to face the demons in front of her.

The older man went up and grabbed the gun from Zero. "Say goodnight, Lyra." A cloud of smoke escaped from the barrel. A red pool slowly seeped through the grooves in the tiles, where her body fell onto the ground. "Let's go Zero." The vessel obeyed the man's orders.

Outside, Sally looked curiously at the worn down structure. She heard a gun firing off somewhere in the vicinity, but she couldn't find a plausible area to enter. Everything in front of her was locked. There weren't any windows that she could squeeze through.

"There has to be a way in," her hand shifted around the main entrance, hoping that it would trigger some hidden sensor. "Where is it?" She raised her hand even higher and hit a rough groove. "Jackpot."

The gated doors slowly creaked open, and revealed a ransacked area. Boxes of cardboard were strewn on the floor, and rats darted to and fro on their midnight raids. Out of the corner of her eye, a stairwell was visible. Before any more possible movements, she raised her watch in front of her. A small beam emitted from the device, and the watch's face revealed several motion sensors. The Preventer pushed another button on her watch, and an electromagnetic beam knocked each one of the targets out of commission.

She quickly entered the stairwell and repeated the same protocol, making sure she wouldn't be spotted. A wave of fresh air hit her face when she made it the ground level. She followed the breeze until she met another door. Carefully, she lifted the latch and peered through the other side. The hallway lights were on dim, but she managed to give a quick run through for any possible targets. It was dead silence. She leaned her back against the wall, and kept both of her eyes ahead of her. If the enemy was there, she didn't want to be cornered on all four sides.

She continually looked behind her, but there was no one. A pair of doors led into another hallway. _How long is this going to last? _A light was still on at the end of the hallway. Quickly, she darted in that direction. On instinct, she placed her gun in front of the room and peered in. On the floor, a young woman remained motionless. Her blood had pooled around her, as her eyes stared to nowhere. The color had faded to death's shade. Sally sidestepped the victim, and placed her hands over the girl's eyelids. For whatever reason, there was more to the scene that she suspected. The doctor ran over to her desk and looked to see what clues she may have left. One manila file caught her attention, and she gasped at the name. "It can't be."

A hiss coming from the main hangar boomed in her ears. She looked over her shoulders, and out of the darkness, the Gundam emerged. She finally faced the attacker of Andromeda in the flesh. The motion of the mecha was jerky. "He can't be flying it."

"You're right." Odin had returned to the scene of the crime.

"Heero."

The name sounded foreign to him, "You're mistaken." He cocked his gun, ready to shoot at his second target.

"What happened to you?" She tried to reason with him.

"Why don't you look at the file?"

Sally reached for the papers, and made one glance down a series of paragraphs. She didn't want to lose a second with him. Any more time spared might cost her, her life. "Zero," she whispered.

"Correct."

She quickly shot at the window and jumped through the enclosure. A barrage of bullets came from behind her. In that room, she had to face another opponent. Graves saw her from the cockpit and recognized immediately that she was working for the Preventers. He sent an assault with small ammunition, tearing away at the walls above her. Ten feet away, there was her sole getaway. But, it was ten feet where one in a dozen bullets may kill her. She shoved the idea to the back of her mind. Without any more hesitation, she made a break for it. Yellow flickers flashed behind her, as she felt one metal object pierce through her. She stumbled to the ground, but regained her stance and eyed her salvation. "Damn, Wufei won't like this." She bit back the pain. Her hands reached out for the circular knob, and another bullet made its mark. Heero was behind her that's how she knew, but with the last bit of her sanity, she yanked at the door. She made several attempts to grasp the brass knob, but it slipped through her hands as the blood spread on the surface. Without thinking, she tore a piece of her shirt and used it to grasp the knob in one more attempt, and a wisp of cold air finally met her face. On the other side of her salvation, she jammed the door, hoping the bulletproof barrier would buy her some time. But with Zero controlling Heero, it would only be a matter of minutes.

A flight of stairs loomed ahead of her. _The day just keeps getting worse. _No matter how much distance she placed between him and her, her blood trail would lead him to her. She steadied herself on the banister, ignoring the waves of pain resonating from her right hand and lower back. Down below, thumps rang in the halls. The weight of her legs was getting heavier, and her eyesight periodically faded in out. With the last bit of her strength, she managed to trudge up the last arduous step. She crawled through the doorframe, and she was in the room that began this midnight venture. Only this time, she found herself on the opposite side of the room. She sighed her head in defeat and dragged herself to the other side. It was getting useless. Her vision now began to fail from the massive blood loss. She pulled her right hand and managed to get her index finger to hit one more button on her watch. "We have a problem," a coughing fit took over her weakened condition. The recorder kept taking in her fading voice, "Heero is alive…alias Odin, but…Zero is back." Her right hand moved down to her abdomen. The blood from her right hand mixed with the blood from the area. The dim light revealed the crimson ooze, and she couldn't do anything about it. "I'm sorry, Wufei."

Down below, Odin finally broke through the seal and scanned the frequent droplets. He barged through the upper level, and with his keen sight he found her. The deceitful moonlight had revealed the darkened trail. She leaned against the far northern wall with her head slumped towards her chest. He kicked at her body, and the soulless body leaned over to a side. A smatter of blood was smeared against the wall in the wake of his movement. "Hn…perfect."

"Odin, come back here." Graves called out to his new weapon from the Gundam. The machine stood out from the quiet sanctuary.

"Coming." He opened the barrel of his gun. A small smile graced his lips. In the darkness, one stray ray caught the metallic sheen of his last bullet.

TBC


	7. Crossing Paths

A/N: Be forewarned, character deaths abound. Sorry about the last chapter, I forgot to put that warning in. I'm withholding the epilogue, since this chapter was far longer than I thought and I appreciate it if you can leave a review. I love the hits that my story is receiving, but some feedback would be great too. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday that's coming up. Be safe!

ooooo

Crossing Paths

ooooo

Wufei gazed at his watch. The green glow deceived his eyes. Too much time has passed since his last briefing with Sally. "Something's wrong." He tossed and turned in his sleep. For the night, he couldn't catch the elusive feeling. He turned his back from the door and shut his eyes as tight as he could.

"Wufei," a soft deep voice came over his shoulders.

It sounded like her, and he shot up from his position. There was no one. Only the deep solitude of his room kept him company. A shiver ran down his spine. It was the same feeling when he lost Meiran. He hopped off his bed and quickly dressed himself in his uniform that was draped over his chair. The light outside the hallway was fairly bright, and he rubbed his eyes to get readjusted. He then made his way down to the north end of the colony and entered the room where he was there only two hours ago.

One of the computers flashed a signal. "It has to be her." He pulled up the voice recording, and her voice came to him. The tone sent chills through his spine. It was his affirmation of what he felt minutes ago in his room. He didn't want to believe it. _I'm sorry, Wufei_. The words lingered in his ears. He pounded against the screen in disbelief.

Trowa crept from behind him and placed his hand on his comrade's shoulder. There were no words to say from his point of view. A simple gesture was all he had to offer. He stood there and listened to what his friend had to say.

"She said that she would be home today." He balled his fists, as tears started to stream slowly. "I gave her such a hard time in retrieving the info." He broke down.

Pilot 03 stood by his friend a little more and grabbed a box of tissue from one of the tables. He had listened to her last message, and it only deepened his fears. With Heero being the enemy, fighting him will be the hardest thing that any of them will have to do. He placed his hands over his mouth, trying to see what their next move might be. He scribbled something onto a pad of paper and left it where Josh or Duo would see it. He briskly walked over to Wufei and grabbed the man by his shoulders.

The two then entered a small shuttle, and headed back to the earth to where Sally's last known coordinates were. On the ride there, the two remained silent. It seemed all their life…silence followed them wherever they went. Trowa eyed a possible landing site, as he guided the craft towards an open field. In his field of vision, he saw the car that Sally parked.

Once they touched the ground, Wufei leapt off the back end, and ran towards the building. The door was slightly unhinged, and he shoved it as far back as he could. He didn't care if a firing squad was on the other side, he just wanted to find her. The evidence of the early morning's escapade was behind him. A smear of her blood on the wall made his stomach tie into knots. "Sally." He slowly walked up to her and embraced her lifeless form in his warm arms. "I'll avenge for your death, mark my word. He'll have hell to pay for." He gritted his teeth as he made his pledge.

Outside, Trowa made his rounds around the building. When he turned around the corner, he found a dead body. "Graves." He flipped the body over. There was a single shot to the heart. He resumed his task, and looked for any other clues that could crack their mission time. He wandered inside, and saw Wufei still holding Sally in his arms. Instead of breaking his last moment with her, he decided to follow the trail of her blood that she left behind.

The copper stains lead him to the basement of the building. Her instincts were right on the structure, and Trowa grimly followed the evidence. The former office of Lyra was total wreckage. Bullet ridden walls and shards of papers littered the site. In it, he found Heero's first victim, judging by the paleness of her skin. His eyes darted back to the computer that she used. In his mind, he tried to recreate what possible last hours of the woman's life. He walked up to the machine and opened it. Miraculously, the machine seemed to be in fine working condition. Instantly, the files leading to the mysterious Gundam opened up and the secrets were somewhat revealed. _Hardness of metal close to that of diamonds_…_ammunitions ranging from heat guided missiles to countermeasures_. _Double-edged saber, _his eyes trailed over to the familiar info he already knew…_Zero system installed. _

He looked over his shoulder. A single ray of sunlight shined through the open ceiling. The mecha they were so desperately looking for was not in sight. An incoming signal caught his attention.

"What's the status down there?" Une's voice loomed over the com link.

"The Gundam's missing. Graves is dead along with another woman." He didn't need to tell his commanding officer that one of their own was dead. "I'm requesting for some Preventers to continue patrolling the area and to seal the scene."

"Alright then. Get back as soon as possible." Une paused for a moment, "On a second thought…stay where you are. If Heero has the Gundam, he may start attacking the ESUN council. Be prepared to evacuate any major officials to shelters."

"Will do." He remembered something else he had to say to her, "The hardness of Heero's Gundam is close to that of diamonds."

"Roger that."

The former Heavy Arms pilot gave a last final thorough sweep of the scene to see if he can extract any more information that could bring down Graves' mecha. With the information off of Lyra's computer, it was the only lead that he was given. He climbed back up the stairs and heard his own footsteps coming from below him. Back on the main floor, Wufei had his back against the wall, while his jacket was draped over Sally's body.

"Anything down there?"

Trowa stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Only one good lead about the metal they were using." He looked out the dusty windows, "There's another victim downstairs. It makes a total of three."

"Who else did he kill?" He looked down on his blood soaked hands. The scarlet liquid blended into his skin.

"Graves." The two officers heard the requested patrol pull up to the building. "Its our cue to leave." Outside, Trowa briefed the group about what occurred. Immediately, they descended into the building with their mission. "We have to head over to the ESUN council. He may be there."

"Fine by me," he pulled out his gun.

The two took Sally's spare car, and headed over to the main building. It was the first time they headed back there since Relena left her office. With Graves out of the picture, they would have to explain what his true intended goal really was. Trowa glanced into the rearview mirror, "So who wants to explain it?"

Wufei was on the same wavelength with him, "Shouldn't Une brief them? I don't think they would like two Preventers storming in on their morning meeting." He continued to stare through the rows of buildings that meshed with the background. "I'm not in the mood to explain."

"Very well then. I will…" The car arrived at its destination, but the guards were already expecting them.

"Are you Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang?" The man asked wearily. The pair nodded their heads in affirmation. "The council has been awaiting for your arrival. Commander Une gave you clearance."

Trowa pulled the car onto the long winding road until the main entrance was seen in full view. Already, there was a strong military and police presence around the front gates. A senior staff member greeted them at the front door. "This way gentlemen." The female guided them to the general assembly area.

The blinding lights greeted the pair as they approached the podium. Whispers were heard among them, as they learned Graves' fallout. "Good morning, members of ESUN council. Earlier today, we found the body of Graves down at a local warehouse not too far from here. Over the past several weeks, reconnaissance was conducted on Graves and his whereabouts. From our investigations, we have found that Graves was harboring a Gundam." Shouts and gasps were heard about. "The original five Gundams were destroyed after the Mariemeia incident, but Graves managed to create this new prototype with the Zero system installed in it."

One of the senior members of the council stood in his seat, "How are we going to defeat this atrocity? We don't have any current weapons up that can stop it."

Wufei stepped into the limelight, "The Preventers have secretly housed three newer Gundams in Andromeda. This project was never leaked out to the ESUN before."

"You're telling me that your organization had these weapons all along, while at the same time, you violated your peace-keeping premise." Another council member stood angrily up in his seat.

"Look," Wufei' voice silenced the room. "You're all in danger now. The pilot of this new Gundam is Heero Yuy. He already has murdered three people…Graves and his senior scientist, and one of our own officers." His fists pounded against the podium, "Now is not the time to quarrel about violating treaties. We have to focus on defeating what Graves started. Otherwise, the whole world and the colonies will be at the mercy of Heero Yuy."

The vice president of the ESUN made his way towards the stage, his hand covering the microphone, "I agree with what you have to say. From this moment on, any work related to Graves is dropped. We have a far more serious crisis on our hands if Heero starts gunning us."

"Sir, I suggest you move everyone here to the secured bunker," Trowa walked up to him. "Right now his whereabouts are unknown."

"Whatever you say, Barton." The vice president adjourned the emergency meeting and initiated the protocol for evacuation. Trowa and Wufei joined the other Preventers in securing the main floors, in case Yuy snuck in and tried one of his rampant shootings.

ooooo

Odin looked out at the quietness of space. He managed to hijack the mecha from Graves before he met his untimely fate. The politician had underestimated how much the system took over Heero's mind and body. The thirst for ultimate power was his true downfall.

"Where should my first true target be?"

"Stop this, Zero!" Odin seethed under his breath.

"Still fighting are we?"

"Someone will stop you." He tried to regain his motions.

"Don't underestimate me. I already made you kill three people last night." The voice mocked back at him. Zero made Odin guide the mecha in orbit around the earth. "It's a shame many lives will be lost."

"Why didn't you want Graves?" Odin tried to keep his mind free from the computer system for a moment.

"He was a nuisance, end of story." A stinging sensation came from the back of his head. "Now behave."

Relena looked up from where she had fallen asleep. Someone had moved her over to a makeshift cot. She felt his presence there in her dreams again. It wasn't the same vision she had in the infirmary, but this one was distant. His body was there, but his mind was somewhere else. "Heero." Sounds coming from the wide-open bay caught her attention. Duo had scrambled up to one of the cockpits, and began to tinker with the controls. His mind was set for anything now.

"I just need one more adventure before Hilde has the baby." The happy-go-lucky pilot called out from his seat.

"I don't think you should do anything crazy," Quatre countered back, as he sat in another cockpit.

"We're two pilots short." He suddenly was distracted with a sound that came from one of the buttons. "Oops…I don't think I need to do that."

Josh minded his own business. His photographic memory kicked into high gear, as he awoke the giant. He looked over at the two old timers and shook his head back and forth.

All throughout this time, he lied to his parents about playing over at a friend's quarters. To them, they were amazed that their socially challenged son had made an effort to meet new friends on the colony. _What they don't know can't hurt them_. His mantra repeated back and forth in his mind, easing his guilty conscience. This was much way cooler than playing video games.

"Josh, you sure your parents said this was okay?" Quatre looked wearily at the teenager.

"Yes."

"Why do I get a feeling that they don't know about this?" The clairvoyant hit his mark.

"Hn."

Une monitored their progress on the ground, "Enough talking. I want each of you to adjust your lasers to the highest setting as possible. Trowa has just relayed me the necessary info about the synthetic metal." The three pilots obeyed her orders.

"Are you sure about this?" Duo being the antagonist he was at the moment. Somehow, he needed that one last adventure, but he didn't want to become scrap metal.

"Don't make me take you off this mission." Une threatened him with her voice. "Just direct your lasers to the reactor core of his Gundam."

"It's easier said than done." The God of Death returned to his system diagnostics.

Relena gingerly paced herself to where everyone was at, "How is everything?"

"Fine for now." The commanding officer looked at the former foreign minister reading the notes that she took from her messages. A tear trickled down the young woman's face.

"When did that happen?"

"Earlier this morning." Une glanced towards the notes that were in her handwriting. "I'm afraid we have to stop him at all costs."

"Let me ride with Quatre," her eyes focused back on the older woman. "I need to do something."

The blue orbs pleaded with her chocolate eyes. Une hadn't mentioned about her wakening to the colonists yet. There were security measures still intact, and she never knew if there were any Graves sympathizers. Judging by the majority of the colonists that were uprooted from their homes and lives, a majority hated the late politician. But still, chances could never be taken.

She placed her hands down on her makeshift table, "Alright you can fly with him." She hoped she was making the right decision, as she watched the girl properly introduce herself to their newest team member. Everything was moving too fast, and she felt it in her bones. It seemed Relena's awakening was tied to all of the events that were happening with the Zero system.

ooooo

The rockets pulsed the hybrid Gundam steadily in its orbit. Down below, sparks of silver darted between clouds. A thunderstorm had materialized over the Atlantic Ocean. Odin had managed to break the walls that Zero surrounded his mind, but all he could do was wait and see what the combat system would do next. His visceral functions were still being controlled by the faceless system.

Without warning, his hands glided to the control panels and he felt the machine being pushed further into deep space. "Might as well return to where it all began." The deep voice cut through his thoughts.

The sensors that Trowa had setup were picking up the looming intruder. One by one, Zero took them down, but he was snagged in their trap. The alarms sounded off throughout the colony, as everyone fanned out to their designated areas. Une had made sure the colonists were briefed on what could possibly transpire if Zero attacked the colony, she was barely one step ahead of the combative system.

"Initiate the colony's defenses and shield. Everyone, battle stations!" Une shouted to her officers, and in no less than ten seconds, the three secret Gundams were released from the holding bay for the very first time. The three spiraled into the endless night, and met their adversary head on. The pale ghost reared its double-edged laser, ready to annihilate anything that came across it.

"Remember it's not Heero. It's Zero controlling him." Relena kept replaying the thought in her mind. How will she be able to complete his request? She didn't want to be the last person to kill him. He had given up so much for her dream…she just couldn't take him down.

Quatre sparred against the system. "He's just too fast…more like a machine than being human." The master alarm rang off, as Odin locked onto his target. "Brace yourself, Relena." The blonde managed to thwart the wielding blade from their attacker. He quickly maneuvered around, hoping to hit one of three reactor cores on the backside of the metallic hybrid. The white beam bounced off in the never-ending night. "He must have a shield activated."

The two watched Duo and Josh charging onto the scene. "Move aside, Gramps."

"Look who's talking, squirt." He fired a barrage of bullets to see the extent of the invisible shield. "Heero you need to stop this now!"

Odin's voice sneaked through their communication's line, "I don't respond to that name anymore."

The words only reaffirmed them that Zero had a firm grasp over their friend. Josh charged in, firing three different lasers. He hoped that his random assault knocked one of the units for the shield out of commission. "Nothing." An invisible cloak surrounded the giant.

"It's useless…I activate the shield from the inside." The pilot scowled at their futile attempts.

The teenager rubbed his forehead, analyzing what other clues he could use to help them penetrate Zero's defenses. Without any warning, Josh lunged at the machine ahead of him. He was testing his own little theory.

"What are you doing kid? Are you crazy?" Duo gasped in horror.

Josh had his Gundam's laser beams set for the antenna at the top of the suit's head. It was a small target, but he just wanted to see if Odin had dropped the shield for an instant.

"You foolish boy!" Odin raised his double-edged saber, and sliced through the legs of his attacker. The force sent Josh reeling forward in his cockpit.

"So much for that theory," the wind was knocked out of him, as he felt his harness choking him.

"Josh, are you alright?" Quatre called out to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he coughed slightly. "Did I make a scratch?"

"No. Nice try, though." Duo grinned, " We were like that before…come to think of it. I guess we'll be doing things the hard way after all."

An alarm went off in his cockpit, "That's my cue to leave."

"Thanks for your help, Josh." Relena jumped into their conversation.

"No problem." The teenager managed to fly back with the mangled wreck. Out of the corner of his screen, his parents watched him dock. He could already here his mother's voice in his head. _What on earth were you thinking_ speech wasn't too far away.

ooooo

Odin continued to attack his foes relentlessly. The sneak attack by Josh only pushed the machine further to obliterate them. "I don't know how long I can keep this up?" Duo looked at the electronic readings. He was almost out of ammunition. "We could use the detonation system." A smile graced his lips, bringing him back to the days when he was so close to using that as last resort.

"That would be useless," Quatre interjected him. With that shield still on, I highly doubt it would do us any good. And plus, you're going to be a father soon."

"It's just a thought." The God of Death began to run out of ideas. A flash came to the right of his screen. Odin was starting to make his move towards the colony. "Damn him," he cursed under his breath. "Une, how are the shields holding?"

"So far, they're at maximum power. The field stations are holding up."

"I don't know how long we can hold him off." The severity of the battle heavily weighed in his heart.

"The colonists are in their rescue pods as of this moment. If that comes down to that, I need Quatre and you to secure a route for them to take."

"I'll see what we can do out here." Another jolt came from behind his Gundam. "Odin…err…Heero you're starting to piss me off!" Duo threw a couple of stabs against his buddy.

"Come back to us, Heero!" Relena shouted into Quatre's com link. "I know you can hear me. Fight it." She pleaded to him.

Inside the cockpit, Odin clawed at his head. The voices were becoming intense. "I know that voice. It's her." The mental barriers that Lyra and Zero had placed were crumbling. "Zero, you will die with me."

"She's a fake," the system tried to keep him under his grasp. Another pinprick was felt behind his neck.

A scream escaped from his lips. Heero had regained his memory. Images from his first encounter with the Gundam came flooding back. He had pushed Relena into the life pod to save her life. His memory then wandered back to that winter's night, where he saw her standing by the window. Her back was turned to him, but his heart had skipped a beat. It was the first time he felt like that. Eventually his mind gazed back to the time he had left her the teddy bear for her birthday. Zero crept into his mind again, repairing the damage that was done by her voice. "You lose." Heero pressed a sequence of buttons to deactivate the protective cocoon that surrounded the mighty giant.

Right then, Duo noticed that the shield began to waver. "Perfect timing." He made a mad rush at the goliath, and knocked the double-edged saber out of the hybrid's hand. The two were locked into hand-to-hand combat. "I guess it's time to go back old school style."

"You will never defeat me!" The faceless system still used Heero's voice.

"Now Quatre, hit the reactor core." Duo jiggled with the controls in his Gundam, taking into account the force he was holding against. A flash of silver whizzed across the screen. He immediately ejected from his cockpit and escaped from the back. The explosion pushed his pod further back towards the colony. He watched as gravity pulled Graves' mobile suit back to the earth. A silent fireball of red and orange fell through the atmosphere.

"Looks like Heero managed to escape," Quatre picked up a signal on his radar. On the sphere dome, a blip registered. It was heading down to the earth."

"Do you know where he's heading?" Relena looked over his shoulders.

"We'll just have to follow him." Quatre pushed the boosters and prepped their entry. "Duo, will you be alright for now?"

"Yeah, I can sit tight until someone tows me back." He watched his friends dart into the atmosphere.

Quatre eyed the craft through the radar. He dodged the ashes of Graves' former Gundam that rained from the heavens... "It looks like we're going to touchdown in a forest." The turbulence rumbled throughout the cockpit, as Relena bounced in her seat to and fro.

"Just a few more seconds of this…" he gritted his teeth. He didn't think the G force would be like that. "I'm guess I'm a little rusty after all."

"You think?" she tightened her hands on her thighs. The pressure was excruciating.

Quatre guided the Gundam down the atmosphere even more, "The worst is over."

Relena let go of her breath that she was holding. Soon, they were upon a dense forest. Ahead of them, parts of the tree were hacked unintentionally. Quatre landed the mecha in a sitting position. It was an open field that was ten yards away from the peculiar pattern. The cockpit door slowly opened, as the pilot peered through. A bullet ricocheted off the metal, and clanged against the upper parts of the Gundam. He dove back to cover Relena for protection. Another bullet destroyed the button to bring close the cockpit door.

"We can't stay in here." She yelled at him, as the sound of more gunfire pinged against the metal. "Is there anymore escape routes?"

"Yeah," he placed his arms around his head as bullets kept ricocheting about, "in the back through the life pod." The two snuck to the back, and released the hatch. Judging by the sudden drop, it was a good six feet from where they were. "Might as well jump," he guided her to the edge, and she then sat down. He gave her a soft nudge, and she hit the soft brush underneath.

Down on the ground, she was peppered with bullets again. Quickly, she took cover in the trees, never thinking twice of looking back. Once she was deep within the green foliage, her thoughts ran back to Quatre. She crouched through the underbrush, but no matter how careful she was, gunfire followed her. The bullets kicked up the dirt, as they hit the ground. _He must know where I am_. A twisted cry caught her attention. Her jeans got caught on one of the shrubs. She yanked at the fabric and it finally gave away. Another gunshot resonated around the area. The sound sickened her stomach, but it was her only way in finding both of her friends.

"Stop it, Heero!" She emerged from her safety net, pleading him to stop. She couldn't stand the sound of the gunshots any longer.

"It's about time, you showed. Your friend wasn't going to last any longer." He threw out the empty magazine and added a new clip in.

Her cerulean eyes darted to where Quatre was. He was propped against the leg of the Gundam. A river of blood gushed from his open wound in his left shoulder. A ragged cough raged through his body.

"You need to stop this." Her eyes were filled with rage.

"Why?" He took a few steps towards her. "It's a perfect plan. The taste of power never felt so good."

"You're just a system in a machine. You're not real." She took several steps back, not knowing what he was truly capable off.

"He is the perfect body after all…youthful and strong. The first time we met, he resisted. And now, look where he is today." A stray laugh came from him.

"He's not the Heero I once knew." She stumbled over a pothole. "Heero is far different from you, he's human."

"Looks like this is where it will all end." He pointed the weapon in front of her. At that moment, it felt like dejavu all over again.

"I know you can still hear me Heero." She ignored the system that ravaged his body. "Please listen to me." Her response only elicited him to push the barrel pushed harder on her forehead. "You have to be strong. I never had a chance to say this to you, but…I love you." She heard the trigger being pulled back, and braced for the end.

Strained words escaped from his body, "Don't you think about it, Zero." Heero focused on regaining his movement with his right arm. He could tell Zero still had a firm grip over the trigger. "Dammit, Zero." He used all of his strength he had to jar the gun away from her. _Bang_.

Relena looked up to see what had transpired. Heero stood awkwardly with his right arm holding the gun to the heavens. The gun had misfired above her. "Please hurry, I can't hold him back much longer," his words were strained as Zero was eating away his life force. The more times he fought against the system, he felt a piece of him die each time. He managed to have his hand drop the gun to the ground.

Automatically, she went to him and picked up the weapon from the dirt ground. It was still warm from his touch. Her fingers shook as she wrapped the weapon into her own hands. "I can't," tears began to well up in her tranquil eyes.

"I know you can. I've killed too many people already." His eyes pleaded with hers. "I…" His body jerked, it was a sign that Zero still infested him with his poison. "Please, Relena…do this for me."

She looked at him still. It ate at her conscience…why was she forced to kill him. It wasn't fair. Her finger quivered over the trigger. "I'm sorry, Heero," tears cascaded down her cheeks. She finally came to terms with his wish, but it tore her heart into pieces. _Why is it always unfair? We don't deserve this_.

Heero watched the bullet as it made its way towards him. He was finally getting the absolution he was searching for. Zero screamed inside his mind, trying to reason with the man to dodge the projectile. All he did was remain firm in his stance. _Thank you, Relena_. The bullet pierced his heart, and he dropped to his knees, never breaking eye contact from her. A smile graced his youthful face once again. At that very moment, the weight of his burdens was finally lifted.

"Heero!" She ran to him. The act of pulling the trigger seemed distant to her now. She caught him in her arms, and carefully laid him on her knees.

"It's all over now." His voice was barely above a whisper. His Prussian eyes showed peacefulness that she didn't see before. "One four three."

The words were barely audible, "What did you say?"

"One four three." His last final words lingered on the tips of his pale lips.

What did that mean? She brushed aside his bangs that covered his forehead. His body still felt warm to her touch, but it grew heavier as time went on. Again, she knew she was alone again. There was no way he was coming back. Her aim had deadly precision this time. Tears ran down her alabaster skin, as she pondered what do next. The gun beckoned her in the sunset's tangerine rays. It called to her. The obsidian metal was heartless…it didn't matter how much people it killed.

She lifted the man she loved out of her arms and laid him on the soft ground. The gun hypnotized her, and she was falling for its trap. Just minutes before, Zero was threatening her with that weapon and she herself killing the monster that controlled Heero. She picked it up, savoring the ending she wanted. _This wouldn't be right_…her eyes brimmed with tears again…_he wouldn't want it this way._ A soft breeze ran through her long honey strands. Her gaze settled on the lifeless body one more time before she stood on her heels. A sparkling array of rippled sunlight caught her attention. Right then, she threw the gun into the water and sent it down to its watery grave. Her thoughts lingered on Heero's last message…one four three. At that moment, it finally dawned on her what he said. His answer was the same as hers only in code.

The sound of a helicopter swooping low over the area caught her attention, and she made her way back to where the looming Gundam sat. The others had converged at the spot, wondering if the threat was gone, while a team of medics ran to Quatre's aid. Relena lifted his left arm over her shoulders and managed to bring him to the open clearing. "It's all over now," she looked at her friends with a dazed look.

"Yes it is," Une walked up to her side and coaxed her to release her grasp from Heero, "It's time to let go." Her slender fingers slowly trailed off the cotton fabric of his shirt.

The last of the fabric slipped through her fingers, and at that moment, she knew she couldn't linger in the past any longer. Too much bloodshed had left its mark, and it took away the very lives she cared for the most. And so, she made a vow to herself on that day to protect the ones she loved. "I'm heading back to the ESUN, whether they like it or not."

TBC


	8. Epilogue: One Four Three

A/N: At last, the story finally reaches a conclusion. Thanks for reading/reviewing. Enjoy! Well, I'm off to work on my other fics…check out my profile for upcoming stories. Thanks again for sticking with me from Reminiscing to Waking Hour. I hoped this sequel didn't disappoint all of you. I know you were probably rooting for 1xR all the way, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Hence, the title takes on a greater meaning. Thank you to TheEvilAshleyness for her review.

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Epilogue: One Four Three

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Sounds of fingers striking a keyboard drifted over towards a sleeping figure. _It can't be six already…wait today's Saturday…why is he up so early_? _And why did I marry him?_ Her hands fell underneath a crumpled pillow, as she tried to catch more of her elusive sleep. "Wake up, mommy." The boy tugged at the light blue comforter that draped over her form.

"Give me, five more minutes," she mumbled.

"Daddy's already working," the five year old trailed off, "he told me to get you."

"Hmm." She twisted to face her son. "Tell daddy that mommy needs more sleep."

"Okay," sounds of footsteps pattered towards an adjacent room.

She felt a warm fuzzy feeling take over her body. _Yes, I can squeeze in another five minutes_. She cuddled the pillow, and relapsed into pure quietness.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty." A figure crawled up next to hers. He tried his best in not shifting too much on the mattress, since he knew how much she worked so late in her office. He should know since he has to protect her. His hands entwined with hers.

"It's too early," her blue eyes barely met his own onyx eyes. "I need more sleep, I've been working way too long in undoing all of Graves' work." She spoke with her eyes closed. Her husband didn't heed her request. A trail of warm kisses tickled her skin from her collar to her neck. "Stop that, you know I'm tickl…"

"I know," a smirk played on his face. "That's one way I know how to wake you up." He paused for a moment to see if his wife would stir from her sleeping stupor. "And then there's this."

A hand snaked its way to her waist, and crept under her rose tank top. She still lay on her side when it finally found its destination. A light pressure danced across her chest. "Okay, I'm up!" Her eyes darted open, and she turned to face her husband. "You sure have one twisted way to wake me up." She gave him a peck on his lip, a tease that he wanted more of.

"Eww…gross," their son had walked in on their morning ritual from the adjacent room. He held a teddy bear in his hands. The same one that Heero had given to Relena on her birthday.

"Hey there buddy," his father tussled the boy's mocha colored hair, and lifted him up to their bed. "So what do you want to do today?" He looked back to his wife.

"Well we could schedule a play date with Hilde. I don't think she would mine. I think she would appreciate we're coming over to help her out with those three children of hers. With them, setting up their junkyard shop, they need all the help they can get." Relena looked over to her son, and asked him "Do want to go over to Uncle Duo's and Aunt Hilde's house?"

The young boy shook his head from side to side. "How about playing in the park?" The boy's hazel eyes looked up at his parents.

"I don't see why not…we'll go visit them some other time," Relena tapped his nose and he giggled. "What about you, Trevor?"

"Sounds like a plan." He leaned in to give his wife a kiss before getting out of bed with their son, "One four three."

The familiar words toyed with her memory. There was so much of _him_ in Trevor, but she fell in love with him for different reasons. His down to earth attitude had brought her out of her cocoon. She didn't think she would find it after Heero's death, but of course, love always shows up in the most unusual places. For her, it just happened to be standing outside her office door. Her aquamarine eyes met with his obsidian eyes as she stood up, "One four three." She felt his arms encircle her waist. A hold she didn't want him to let go of. For once, happiness came back into her life.

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In case any of you were wondering what "one four three" means...its another way of saying I love you. Again, it was a pleasure writing this sequel. Though, I think my sequel writing days are numbered. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this story. Don't forget to check on my profile to see what upcoming stories I have planned. Take care!


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